February 2 marked the beginning of the second season of Ireland’s Got a Talent. With the same format, Virgin Media One once again began entertaining the audience and the loyal fans. As expected, the judges remain the same. Louis Walsh, Michelle Visage, Denise van Outen and Jason Byrne will try to find out the future most talented Irish performer.
Ireland’s Got a Talent keeps the same format as last year. The first steps that are done are the open auditions held in the major cities across Ireland. If the contestants meet the criteria of the show, they move on to the Judge’s Auditions. This second part of the auditions includes singing in front of a big audience. The major part of the show are the live rounds. In order to move on and be part of the semi-finals, the contestants have to win the majority of the judges.
Tara Jamieson, born in Canada, was one of the contestants in the show. She stepped on the stage and in front of the crowd and the judges she started singing ‘One and Only’ by Adele. The amazed and pleasantly shocked faces of the judges say it all.
Tara is a medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. Her passion for the medicine, particularly paediatrics, is not the only passion she has. Her love for the music is equally the same and because of that she is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music. These two totally different areas are reason for the jokes that are told during her performance. To this, Michelle Visage adds: “[she will] sing to kids while she gives them a shot”.
She gave us an impression of a very relaxed girl who loves being on stage. And she knows how to perform on stage very well. The Judges and Tara’s jokes about the herself prove that the girl is not that stressed, which is a good sign. These jokes were just the introduction to her performance, and man, she performed amazingly.
The semi-final rounds are what all contestant dream about. To be part of that, one has to pass through a process of selection, done in two ways: phone votes and judges’ votes. Each semi-final round selects two winners, ready to face each other in the final round.
The public voting is the only factor that determines Ireland’s Got a Talent winner. Besides the nation-wide fame, the winner also gets € 50.000. The winner even gets her/ his own prime-time Christmas TV special. No wonder why so many contestants try to win the show.
Play the video and enjoy with this beautiful performance!
Steve Harvey – you just can’t miss that man on TV. His dedication to entertain us and keep us laughing resulted with numerous shows. Whether it is on the Internet or on TV, it is always easy to find Steve’s shows. For years he has been making the nation laugh and he still continues doing the great job.
Steve Harvey’s career started in 1985. During this time, he has been acting and performing as a stand-up comedian in several local club. That experience helped him to master his skills, especially acting. As a result of that he made it to the finals of the Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search.
That was just the beginning. Soon afterwards, he ended up hosting Showtime at Apollo. The nation-wide success was guaranteed with his The Steve Harvey Show. Nowadays, his Hey Steve is amusing the audience like never before. This talented comedian and host never fails our expectations.
Hey Steve prepared us another pleasant surprise. This time, the show’s star was accompanied by an elderly lady. Since Steve Harvey is well-known for his interaction with the audience, he almost never refuses a proposal given by the crowd. The lady proposed a challenge and of course Steve accepted it.
The lady asked Steve if he can show some of his moves on the dance floor. Steve was more than glad to accept it. Their dance began slowly. They took their positions and started amusing the crowd. Even though they have never planned anything prior the show, they looked like a perfect dancing match. As the music was speeding up, so these two dancers started dancing more energetically. The fun they had is obvious and the crowd enjoyed in this lovely act.
Nevertheless, in his professional career Steve Harvey proved that he is not good only in acting. In 2009 Steve became a best-selling author with his relationship advice books. His thinking and pieces of advice are appreciated by millions of readers. In 2010 he even took over Family Feud. He indeed amazes us whenever a project is undertaken by him.
Steve’s special characteristics is that he knows how regular people think and feel. His life prior becoming a famous host helped him a lot in understanding people. People indeed feel that Steve is part of them, not considering him as those untouchable celebrities.
The common understanding that the family is strong and compact only if the its members share the same genes and physical characteristics is slowly losing its popularity among people. We have witnessed that families that do have related DNA or genes fall apart and lives are being destroyed. There is, however, something totally different that keeps the families together.
Jessica Satterfiled and her husband proved just that. Families can be happy and they can enjoy the life no matter what’s the DNA code of its members. They are showing the world that being physically similar does not guarantee a stable and happy family.
Jessica and her husband are parents of three healthy, happy and beautiful kids. They have adopted them when they were younger and now they try to raise them up into independent adults. They share everything and talk about various different topics. Like every family out there, they enjoy the life.
However, this family differs from the rest in one thing. The kids have different skin color than the parents. During the years, this skin color difference has caused many people to stare at them and wonder what’s going on. From time to time strangers will give them surprised looks and that sometimes puts the family in an awkward position. One such situation occurred while the family was out in a restaurant having their lunch.
All five members of the family decided to eat some burgers in a restaurant. While they were having a good time and enjoying each other’s company, Jessica noticed an old man staring at them. She began feeling even more uncomfortable when she saw the old man approaching them. To her surprise, the man said something very unexpected.
The old man shook her husband’s hand and said:
“I just wanted to tell you that you have such a beautiful family.”
This stunned them. They were left speechless when they saw the man, with tears in his eyes, saying such a good thing. Jessica nor her husband chased the old man, they didn’t get his name, but this line of words shook their emotions. They will remember him for the rest of their lives.
The family is accustomed to hearing words of surprise and in all these years they have been stared at very often. This man’s compliment was something totally different. Unexpectedly, the man’s acknowledge of their success as a family made them very happy and proud.
Regarding her family, Jessica says:
“Families don’t have to match to be a family. What makes a family is their love.”
Jessica’s words are true. Love is the thing that bonds us and keeps us strong and united. The moment we lose it, is the moment when we realise that we are alone with no one besides us. That sucks!
It’s in the humans’ nature to strive to love and be loved. This feeling that is described by many as the strongest of all helps us overcome obstacles and ordeals and is capable of healing our heart and soul. But when it comes to romantic relations and that type of affection, not everyone gets to find the soulmate whom they would spend the journey called life with. Those that do, however, know they are lucky to have someone they could rely on when things get rough.
Kris Scharoun-DeForge and her husband Paul Scharoun-DeForge are a perfect example of how love conquers all. These two met some 30 years ago, and have been married for the last 25. If this doesn’t really sound like something special to you, you’ll change your mind once you learn these spouses both have Down Syndrome. They are longest married couple with this condition and their story continues to inspire people around the world.
The affection they feel for one another only grows bigger with each passing day. They speak of their relationship with sparks in their eyes and give us hope that one day, we could have what these two share as well. They also teach us to never settle for anything less.
“I looked into his eyes and saw my future. He opened up my world.”
Both Kris and Paul never miss a chance to let the other one know how much they are loved and cared for. Every Valentine’s Day, this loving wife crafts a handmade card for the love of her life and the two have a romantic dinner at a restaurant. This has become sort of tradition throughout the years. The last year’s holiday was, however, even more special because they were given the chance to tell the whole world how true devotion and fondness break all the barriers by celebrating their 25-year anniversary. As many believe how people with Down Syndrome aren’t capable of getting emotionally involved in a union, Scharoun-DeForges prove those people wrong and are going stronger than ever.
Sadly, Paul started suffering from dementia which is currently in it’s early stage, but it required that he was placed at a facility where he would receive all the care needed for him to function properly. His wife never leaves his side and is paying him frequent visits, constantly reminding him how much he is loved and cared for.
She said: “When they told me, I started to cry. He’s my life. I don’t want to be without him.”
It’s amazing how in this world full of people who would like to see you fail, Kris and Paul never gave up on one another. They are each other’s support and are very lucky to have found that special person. We wish you a long and even happier life. You indeed are a true inspiration.
Alan Jackson is one of those music stars that modesty overcomes fame. The 60-year-old country music star is one of the best sold country music singers.
With more than 80 million records sold, he is undoubtedly one of the best-known representatives of this music genre.
He is member of Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Furthermore, Alan Jackson owns two Grammy awards, 16 CMA awards and 17 ACM awards.
However, even with all these recognitions, Alan Jackson is still keeping his modesty on higher level. As an illustration, here are his words spoken to the Rolling Stone:
“Even though I’ve done a lot, I still don’t feel quite worthy, but I feel like it’s an honor to qualify for what it requires to be in here with these great people.
“I’ve always tried to make music my first priority – not being a star, not being in the spotlight, just trying to make music that I loved.”
Luckily, we have his daughter Alexandra Jane Jackson. She knows her father’s values and status and does not hesitate talking about the music star. Regarding her father, Alexandra says:
“I see you as: my best friend, the guy that taught me how you treat people matters more than anything else and taught me just how to stand on my own two feet,” she said.
Alexandra is one of the three siblings. Alan and his wife Denise have three daughters, Mattie Denise and Dani Grace. Since 15 December the couple’s marriage is full of love, respect and mutual support. On one occasion Alan even credits his wife with getting his career off the ground.
Alexandra’s tribute to her father continues:
“You’re every daughter’s dream father. Thank you for raising us in a house filled with Jesus and music, and always making sure we knew whatever our dream was could be our reality.”
Thanks to Alexandra’s tribute we can learn something about the private life of this music star. Even though he is extremely popular, with millions of fans, he does not forget his family and his duties as father.
This kind of modesty and giving priority to you family is a rarity in the world of celebrities. Alan Jackson is a very good example for the future music or film stars.
Now, we would like you to enjoy with one of Alan’s songs!
Generally speaking, we do not like to be interrupted. Whether it is a speech, a play or a song, we usually get annoyed if someone interrupts us. It’s an unpleasant feeling that can lead into failure of the success of the things we planned to show the audience.
Sometimes we can manage such a situation, depending on the nature of the interruption. In most cases such situation, like it or not, can cause some unwanted feeling overcome our bodies.
Being interrupted by someone or something can make us nervous and distracted. The unexpected distraction can defocus us from the things that we have had in our minds. However, Kelvin Moon Loh, a Broadway actor, is not like the rest of us.
Since Broadway shows are expected to be one of the finest performances in the world of stage acting, they require high concentration and focus. With that in mind, Kevin and his team started their play ‘The King and I’. However, in the middle of the show, very unexpected visitor disturbed the flow of the show.
A kid diagnosed with autism started shouting loudly in the middle of the act.
What Kevin did after this situation is not something most us will do.
Broadway shows are expensive part of fine arts world. With such high price for a ticket, the audience and the actors expect to have a show almost like a perfection. Slightest disturbance may be strongly criticized.
Kevin’s show was going very well. However, during a whipping scene, the kid started reacting quite loudly. He started shouting and his mother had to take him out of the theatre.
When the kid interrupted the show, part of the audience was not happy to witness that, while some of them had understanding about the incident. With all these mixed feelings in the audience, Kevin realised that he had to do something to settle the things out.
Kevin posted a letter on the social media regarding the kid’s interruption.
Kelvin’s letter
“I am angry and sad,” he wrote.
“Just got off stage from today’s matinee and yes, something happened. Someone brought their autistic child to the theater.
That being said- this post won’t go the way you think it will.
You think I will admonish that mother for bringing a child who yelped during a quiet moment in the show. You think I will herald an audience that yelled at this mother for bringing their child to the theater. You think that I will have sympathy for my own company whose performances were disturbed from a foreign sound coming from in front of them.
No.
Instead, I ask you- when did we as theater people, performers and audience members become so concerned with our own experience that we lose compassion for others?
The theater to me has always been a way to examine/dissect the human experience and present it back to ourselves. Today, something very real was happening in the seats and, yes, it interrupted the fantasy that was supposed to be this matinee but ultimately theater is created to bring people together, not just for entertainment, but to enhance our lives when we walk out the door again.
It so happened that during “the whipping scene”, a rather intense moment in the second act, a child was heard yelping in the audience. It sounded like terror. Not more than one week earlier, during the same scene, a young girl in the front row- seemingly not autistic screamed and cried loudly and no one said anything then. How is this any different?
His voice pierced the theater. The audience started to rally against the mother and her child to be removed. I heard murmurs of “why would you bring a child like that to the theater?”. This is wrong. Plainly wrong.
Because what you didn’t see was a mother desperately trying to do just that. But her son was not compliant. What they didn’t see was a mother desperately pleading with her child as he gripped the railing refusing- yelping more out of defiance. I could not look away. I wanted to scream and stop the show and say- “EVERYONE RELAX. SHE IS TRYING. CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT SHE IS TRYING???!!!!” I will gladly do the entire performance over again. Refund any ticket because-
For her to bring her child to the theater is brave. You don’t know what her life is like. Perhaps, they have great days where he can sit still and not make much noise because this is a rare occurrence. Perhaps she chooses to no longer live in fear, and refuses to compromise the experience of her child. Maybe she scouted the aisle seat for a very popular show in case such an episode would occur. She paid the same price to see the show as you did for her family. Her plan, as was yours, was to have an enjoyable afternoon at the theater and slowly her worst fears came true.
I leave you with this- Shows that have special performances for autistic audiences should be commended for their efforts to make theater inclusive for all audiences. I believe like Joseph Papp that theater is created for all people. I stand by that and also for once, I am in a show that is completely FAMILY FRIENDLY. The King and I on Broadway is just that- FAMILY FRIENDLY- and that means entire families- with disabilities or not. Not only for special performances but for all performances. A night at the theater is special on any night you get to go.
And no, I don’t care how much you spent on the tickets.”
Morals
Kevin’s letter is a great message sent to all of us. Being interrupted, no matter the level of defocusing of our concentration, is not the end of the world after all. Judging kids with mental disabilities, or the parents that try to give that kind of kid a normal life, is very wrong. As Kevin points out, some plays are for the whole family and, as such, is it ok to exclude some of the family members from enjoying the show?
Kevin did a great job with the letter. Whether you agree with him or not, he indeed made his point quite clearly. How would you react in such situation?
Every day we can see the effects of the pollution. Keeping the environment safe and clean guarantees healthy life, for us and for the animals and plants surrounding us. That is a task that all of us should have in our to-do list.
A great story comes from Australia. The city of Kwinana is fighting the pollution of the environment with a fairly simple installation. In other words, the city authorities have installed a filtration system in Henley Reserve by using net. The net itself is placed on the outlets of the drainage pipes and in that was the plastic and the debris is kept inside, letting water pass through it. This is a very cleaver and simple way of keeping our surroundings clean and free of plastic other harmful materials.
People very quickly saw the benefits of this installation. The trash that usually goes in the nature is huge and after this new installation people see drastic changes. They are now aware that with simple tools the contamination of the environment can be stopped.
Even the authorities were quite surprised by the success of the nets. Their expectations were way too low in comparison to the caught 800 pounds of garbage in just a few weeks. The work paid off.
Therefore, the success of these nets in Henley Reserve made the authorities think about installing such nets all over the city. The goal is to minimize the pollution of the environment. Compared to the more sophisticated filtration systems, this net installation costs some $10.000 and that makes it quite profitable.
The process goes like this. After the installation of the nets on the outlets, the nets are gradually being filled in with garbage. As soon as the nets are full, they is loaded on trucks specially used for this purpose so they can be transported to trash-sorting places. The recyclable materials are kept and the process of recycling starts.
When the net is emptied and the garbage transported, the nets are reinstalled on the outlets. The process starts all over again.
Kwinana proved that with small efforts, minimum budget and willingness to protect the environment, we can do miracles. This an idea that many other cities should take into consideration.
James Tadman’s life turned into hell in just a period of several months. The happy family life he has been hoping for vanished in just a blink of an eye. Losing his two-year-old daughter was the devastating event that ruined his life.
Marcie Tadman’s life was too short. This cute little girl was admitted to Royal United Hospital in Bath, England upon doctor’s conclusion that she had pneumonia. However, as soon as the treatment for pneumonia started, another deadly threat came – she suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Little Marcie’s heart could not survive. This little angel passed away on 17 December 2017. Marcie had sepsis. James’ life fell apart. After his wife’s death, this tragedy was too much for him to bear. Regarding this, he says:
“SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID ‘OKAY DADDY’” BEFORE SHE “WENT LIMP”.
THE DEVASTED FATHER WENT ON TO SAY:
“AS YOU CAN ALL APPRECIATE, MY FAMILY AND I HAVE BEEN THROUGH HELL AND NO WORDS CAN ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE HOW WE ARE FEELING.”
“WE HAVE LOST A VERY BEAUTIFUL, CARING LITTLE GIRL WHOSE SMILE WOULD LIGHT UP ANY ROOM AND MELT ANY HEART.”
“WE PUT OUR TRUST IN THE ROYAL UNITED HOSPITAL, ASSUMING THAT OUR LITTLE GIRL WOULD BE GETTING THE VERY BEST CARE BUT TRAGICALLY THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.
“THE HOSPITAL’S OWN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION HAS IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF FAILINGS AND THESE HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY ONE EXPERT AS ‘SYSTEMIC’ IN NATURE.
“WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNT AND THAT EVERY CHILD THAT RECEIVES TREATMENT AT THE HOSPITAL IN THE FUTURE WILL BE BETTER PROTECTED.”
“THE ONLY CRUMB OF COMFORT I CAN TAKE FROM THE IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION I FIND MYSELF FACING IS THAT MARCIE HAS BEEN REUNITED WITH HER MUMMY, MY WIFE, WHO SADLY LOST HER FIGHT AGAINST CANCER IN JULY 2017.”
The symptoms that this girl had somehow remained unchecked. Just a day before Marcie’s death, James took her to the ER. She had all of the sepsis symptoms. Dr. Claire Verey now regrets for not checking and testing the girl for sepsis. A mistake that took her life. During the official inquiry, the doctor said:
“MY DIAGNOSIS WAS BASED PURELY ON THE MARCIE I SAW IN FRONT OF ME.
“IN MY MIND, MARCIE TADMAN WAS DEFINITELY AN UNWELL CHILD.
“I RECONCILED ALL THE OBSERVATIONS I HAD IN FRONT OF ME WITH BACTERIAL PNEUMONIA.
“THIS IS MY ONLY EXPLANATION FOR NOT DOING ALL THE SEPSIS TESTS.
“I CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN WHY SEPSIS DIDN’T POP UP IN MY HEAD.
“IT’S JUST I GENUINELY FELT THAT ALL THE SIGNS POINTED TO PNEUMONIA.
“RATHER THAN USING THE SCREENING TOOL I USED MY OWN JUDGEMENT LOOKING AT MARCIE AS SHE WAS IN FRONT OF ME.
“I APOLOGISE WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO MARCIE.”
Furthermore, James explains:
“I EXPLAINED TO MARCIE THAT EVERYTHING WAS OKAY AND THEY WERE GOING TO GO TO ANOTHER ROOM.
“SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, ‘OKAY, DADDY’. WHEN THE NURSE FINISHED GIVING THE FLUIDS MARCIE LOOKED AT ME, TOOK ONE BIG BREATH AND SHE LOOKED STRAIGHT INTO MY EYES.
“I HAD HOLD OF HER OTHER HAND AND WAS STROKING IT, TELLING HER SHE WAS GOING TO BE OKAY, SHE JUST SEEMED TO TURN OFF WHEN SHE EXHALED AND WENT LIMP.”
CORONER MARIA VOISIN LISTED A RANGE OF FAILINGS BY THE HOSPITAL AND RECORDED A CONCLUSION THAT MARCIE DIED FROM NATURAL CAUSES CONTRIBUTED TO BY NEGLECT.
“I CONSIDER THAT PUTTING THESE BASIC FAILURES TOGETHER LED TO THE GROSS FAILURE TO PROVIDE OR PERFORM ANY EFFECTIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT,” SHE SAID.
“I FIND THAT THE GROSS FAILURE HAS CAUSED OR SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO MARCIE’S DEATH.”
With sorrows in our hearts, we express our condolences to James. We do hope this little angel will find peace in the Heavens, since she was an angel even here on the Earth!
