I continue to fill gaps in my background before I return to linear algebra. The idea that the tendency of calculus derives into a line to simplify the problems, and liner algebra results.

I spent a little time with Haydn Maust on mu prime. He explained the basis of Laplace transforms, why they exist, and clarified the concept without a word of “Piecewise continuous”. When I had trouble with them, Doc Putter merely showed me how to do them. There was no geometry and no background. Haydn fixed the background, then came the geometry.

Today is Keith’s birthday, which struck me what may have happened when I met him in 1986. I didn’t know his background. After the third time watching “Spiderman: No Way Home”, I noticed the other Spidermans sensed Tom needed help, and later they acted like brothers. So I thought that somehow he was giving off the sense he was hurting, perhaps in body language. My fraternal instinct kicked in, so I was attracted as the comforter of his pain. It took me 36 years to realize it, thanks to Tom Holland’s acting.

Hi, Tom. I don't watch movies much, so I never saw you act until I stumbled upon "No Way Home" on You Tube three months ago. You are the personification of the American Dream, despite your nationality. You showed that hard work and taking opportunities can succeed. I was impressed by your interaction with the other Spidermans and that final scene with Zendaya in the coffee shop, so I bought the disc. I bought the previous two, and your portrayal of the teenage Spiderman justifies your fame. Your father-son dialog with RDJ brought me a vicarious experience as I’m childless and my father died when I was seven. The artwork of your fans inspired me to start drawing again. Your workouts inspired me to the gym regularly. Best of luck in the future. Your image as a role model and high emotional intelligence encourages me to learn from an actor who's younger than my three nephews. kudos.

Last night I couldn't sleep until midnight, and I finally saw the last half hour of "Homecoming". I was impressed with the scene where Peter is trapped under a pile of débris. Tom's acting really hits this scene. I actually could feel the weight of the débris as he tries to lift it after crying for help. Tom actually had trouble breathing, so he ditched the mask, which shows his facial expressions.

From the You Tube Video, someone typed:

His acting here is REALLY good. You can really feel his fear when he’s panicking and screaming for help

My response:

Absolutely! I saw this scene for the first time last night. I could almost feel the weight. The scene with the half mask and half face was a brilliant touch. I understand that Tom could barely breathe in the mask, so he had to take it off. To think I didn't know who Tom Holland was just a few months ago, now I can empathize why he left social media.

From another post:

This is the most accurate spider man. A kid who’s scared and turns to help for adults once in a while when they are scared. I like Tobey and Andrew but something about Tom is just so inspiring and real

My response:

It also helps that one can barely see Tom's freckles in the light on his nose. It was only a few years since "Heart of the Sea" where they're clearly visible. What would have been more effective had they shown his staring back from that image of the half mask half face, with computer graphics.

Spiderman Star Takes Social Media Break Citing Mental Health  Nioek Mov  CNN on Thursday, 18 August 2022

Dear Tom: Right on! You deserve a long break. You worry so much your forehead is as wrinkled as mine. — I have four decades on you. We love you and want what’s best for you. So, take a long break, buddy. Limit your sun exposure. Know that your influence on me was very positive, not just as an excellent actor, but a great role model who pushed me back into the gym. Take up yoga and mindfulness. Lean on your family, especially your brothers. We'll patiently wait for your appearance in the next movie.

My essay from Toastmasters:What teenagers can learn from Spiderman “No Way Home”.

“When you can do the things I do, and you don’t. Then the bad things happen, they happen because of you” – Peter Parker to Tony Stark in “Avengers: Civil War”

I identified three major lessons that a teenager around 13 can learn from Spiderman. The movie opens when Mysterio lies that Spiderman killed him and reveals his identity as Peter Parker. Once that happens, everyone who knows Peter suffers from the revelation. Peter tries to remedy the rejection from MIT of him and his friends by having Wizard Stephen Strange cast a spell to make everyone forget Peter’s identity. Peter, with good intentions, botches the spell, and other beings slip into his universe. Peter tries to fix the problem by hunting for the villains and placing them into the wizard’s prison.

The first lesson is responsibility as Peter struggles with trying to fix his mistake. He weakens many times, but when the wizard is ready to send the villains back to their universes, Peter stops it. His Aunt May had instilled in him the second lesson of morality. Some of the villains died fighting Spiderman in their universes. Consequently, he gives them a second chance while he finds cures before sending them back. He manages to cure one, but then it goes awry, and Peter suffers the same tragedy that the other Spidermans had.

Peter in his grief, despite his Aunt May’s approval that he tired to cure the villains, gives up and tries to send the villains back. Just in time, Tobey and Andrew intervene and finish Tom’s statement “With great power comes great responsibility.” Tom takes back the morality and responsibility with their empathy and guidance. Tobey plays the doyen, who had passed through the same tragedy and overcome the darkness. Tobey counsels Andrew, who still suffers from a similar tragedy, about finding another girlfriend. Andrew plays the middle uniter: “I’ve always wanted brothers” and “I love you guys”. Tom leads the charge because only he has ever been in a team. They succeed when they unite as brothers, but one of the villains blows up the box, and the other villains are again coming into this universe. Tom then takes the ultimate responsibility in this coming of age, and he sacrifices his relationships to save his universe.

So, for any teen, Peter shows them the path of maturity: responsibility, morality, and teamwork.

On the third time I saw the movie in English, when Tobey first enters from the portal, Tobey explains he’s been looking for M J and Ned’s friend because he felt Tom needed his help. Back in 1986, when I was a hostage of Reaganomics in Wilkes-Barré, I met a fellow named Keith. I felt an attraction I couldn’t explain. That scene hit me that I sensed he was hurting and needed my help, so my fraternal instincts came out as it did for Tobey and Andrew. It’s only when we get old do we get smart! Perhaps also we become aware of our emotional intelligence.

Before watching this third of the trilogy, it has more impact by watching the first two in order. Not only does Tom Holland shine in them, but he shows us how a superhero grows up. Slowly Peter takes charge of his own life, “with a little more mentoring” as Tony Stark says in “Homecoming”, but we already know that Peter took that first step earlier in that first movie when he overcame his self-doubt in a tearful and thrilling trial of pulling himself out of being buried under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Recently Tom Holland took charge again in real life. Rightfully, he announced he was withdrawing from social media because it was toxic. Under the stress, his forehead has wrinkles of a man who’s decades older. I’ve read some of those statements, and I wish the detractors would get a life! I noted the toxicity in Celebrity Loop, and sure enough, the next poster accused him of being mentally ill and jealous of Timothée Chalamet!

Acting as altruistic as Spiderman, Tom focused in the video on his charities which help teens recover from toxic social media. Tom is one in a billion and a treasure we should protect. As I’ve stated in other posts, “ Your image as a role model and high emotional intelligence encourages me to learn from an actor who's younger than my three nephews. kudos ”