CEDTalks

Over the course of 25 years, an epidemic has spread throughout North America and caused controversy all over the continent, primarily in the United States. It has caused a decline in creativity and individual thoughts, yet provided some of the funniest moments in recent history. Although it carries many monikers, it is known best as "Co-signing". For those unfamiliar, co-signing is the blind agreement of an action, statement, or trend without forming your own opinion. It is also associated with becoming a fan of a successful sports team without any previous affiliation. Urban legend states that co-signing originated in Lima, Peru, where two brothers close in age would travel the land together.  Young Peruvian Jose Pedro Morales would follow his older sibling LaMiguel (Spanish people have crazy names too) everywhere, even imitating his actions. It is said he would repeat his brother and imitate his actions, including signing LaMiguel’s name, which created the phrase “co-sign”...

I, Cedric Charles Perry, am a hater. Whew...though it's tough to say, admission is the first step to recovery. It's a gene that has traveled throughout my family tree; my great-grandmother has been recognized as one of the more influential haters during the civil rights movement. My sister Dee actually holds the Pennsylvania state record for most consecutive statements using the word "corny", with 46. It appears that there are numerous types of haters; my type is called "Conditional Hater", where in attempts to create humor, I will break out in uncontrollable hating. Recognizing that this trait runs in my family, I was bound to be a hater and it's better for me to acknowledge this now and help others who share this condition. To better address this addiction, which currently affect approximately 3.6 million people in America (I made that number up), let's identify what hating is. Rapper LL Cool J once stated that hating is "identifying a perso...

Have you ever noticed how often cliches conflict? For example, many people believe in the theory "Que Sera Sera" (Whatever happens, happens), while others such as myself follow the saying "Carpe Diem" (Seize the day). Whatever quote you use is up to you; the purpose is to foster knowledge and improvement. One of my new favorite sayings is "When the rubber meets the road..."; It refers to racing, and is analogous to a moment of truth or important opportunity. The quote is used to define levels of performance or being "clutch" in pressure situations. What I've learned over the past few weeks is that those who are unique, talented, and dedicated separate themselves when the rubber meets the road. The lesson became all too real this past week, as I experienced both grave disappointment and incredulous exhilaration in one day. That day I stood before my hero, filmmaker Spike Lee, and pitched my show with pride and zeal. It was a total shock t...