No Kidding, Me Too!!

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, I had the chance to meet an acclaimed actor, producer and best-selling author Joe Pantoliano at Molloy College. Some of Joe Pantoliano’s famous theatrical works include such films as “The Fugitive”, “Risky Business”, “The Matrix”, “The Sopranos”, and “Memento”. He debuted his documentary, “No Kidding, Me Too”, on mental illness to the Molloy community at The Madison Theatre. Pantoliano dedicated this film to removing the stigma associated with mental illness. Nearly 100 million Americans suffer from mental illness. Some of the conditions include clinical depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) . On Joey’s Page he quotes, "Mental Illness is the only disease that you can come home with... and get yelled at for having it." In the film, he discusses his struggle with clinical depression, as well as the stories of six other people who were also affected differently by mental illness. Not only do they discuss their fight with mental illness but they also tell how they are recovering and realizing that they are not alone and that together they can help fight against the stigma and shame of mental illness. If you have not already seen the documentary, I recommend that you and your friends watch it and spread the word to help end this deadly disease. As Joey quotes on his webpage, "By Surrendering To Your Shame, You Obliterate The Blame."

National Alliance on Mental Illness Website: http://www.nami.org/
No Kidding, Me Too! Website:http://nkm2.org/

Vocabulary
acclaimed- to welcome or salute with shouts or sounds of joy and approval
debuted- to perform something for the first time before an audience
stigma- a mark of disgrace on one's reputation
schizophrenia- a mental disorder usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations
post-traumatic- occurring after physical or psychological trauma or injury
shame- the painful feeling of something dishonorable, done by oneself or another
obliterate- to remove or destroy completely

Vocabulary Exercise
Match the definition in the second column with the word in the first column.
1. acclaimed a. mental disorder in which a person see things that are not real
2. debuted b. feeling of dishonor because of something bad you have done
3. stigma c. first appearance
4. schizophrenia d. to get rid of
5. post-traumatic e. to joyfully salute or welcome
6. shame f. mark of disgrace one’s status
7. obliterate g. mental disorder occurring after a trauma or injury

Grammar Point
The difference between the words “Too, To, and Two”. How do we know when to use them?

Too is an adverb meaning a lot or in addition. For example: I like to eat chocolate, and Sally does too.
To is a preposition that expresses motion or direction toward a point, person or place. For example: I go to school on every day.
Two is a noun that is a cardinal number. For example: I have two puppies and one kitten.

Grammar Exercise
Put the correct form of Too, To, or Two in the correct blank space below.
I have ____ dogs. I like ___ take them for walks through the park. Many people walk their dogs in the park_____. One day I went ____sit down on a bench and I saw _____squirrels jumping around while my dogs were playing fetch. The squirrels came over ____ my _____ dogs and wanted ____ play_____.