Perfect Post Secret Moment

Today my roommate asked me if I made this contribution to Post Secret.
I did not send this in, but the fact that my roommate thought I sent this in made me so happy.

I'm also exceptionally happy because it is officially ORANGE OCTOBER.
Giants vs. Phillies starts on Saturday!

Throw in that Hill, Ellie, Ruby, and I had lunch today at Zupas, and it's just about a perfect day (even with the insanity!). Hope your day was just as good!!

10-10-10

I really wanted to write a random blog post today - mostly because I love these dates with the same number that happen each year (and we only have two more!). I have the oddest assortment of ideas to write about jotted down on a stickie note on my desktop... For now though, saying that I want to write (and someday actually catch up on blog reading) will have to suffice. After all, I have a group ethics paper to piece together and edit, a cover letter to write, a computer to back up (too many sad things happening to people's computers!), teams to mentor, and...what was that other thing I had to do.....oh, SLEEP...dare to dream that it all gets done, right?!

Worthy Distraction

The tedium and stress of some classes is enough to push anyone to mild battiness. This week has been no exception. Naturally, mild battiness leads to things be much more amusing than they would be on any other given day. I'm not sure if this video of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon presenting the history of rap will amuse you as much as it amuses me, but I have to share it just the same. You all know, I love me some JT - throw in old school hip-hop, and I am a very happy woman. ps. Just to complete the image, I watched this with a couple friends in-between classes. We got all sorts of stares from how hard we were laughing...especially from the professor as he was trying to get set up for class. So worth it....

The Principles of Uncertainty

The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quirky. Random. Mildly disturbing, inspiring, beautiful, and everything in-between. Not a memoir, a how-to, or an art book - just merely an expression of life through quotes, drawings, and personal experience. A great coffee table book or conversation starter.
[Thanks Fin for giving it to me. I marked so many quotes to write down that I think I'll need a new journal to fit them all in.]

{ps. Don't you think this title is apropos to my entire being right now. Uncertainty is definitely the theme of my life....hope that isn't true for too much longer!}

Lovin' the Orange & Black

My boys made it to the playoffs today, and one of the reasons the month of October exists (for the World Series, of course!) actually applies to me for the first time since 2003. Could not be more excited the games to begin on Thursday. Go Giants!

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up a dozen times in Barnes & Noble. Each time, I put it back down because it was about a circus and about people who cared for and performed with animals. I do not like circuses – they’re disturbing and dirty. The animals are forced to live in squalor and inevitably there are always clowns. I hate clowns. I also do not love animals, and so a story that centers around things that, for the most part, I avoid is not a must-read.
But people kept talking about “Water for Elephants” – my aunt raved about it. My grandma raved even more about it. And then when I was in Los Angeles, a new friend of mine announced that she was nannying for Reese Witherspoon’s body double while Reese filmed “Water for Elephants”. My general inclination to read bestsellers before they become movies kicked in, and one random night in July, I finally bought my copy of this “must-read”.
I have to be honest. I did not love this book. I really do hate circuses, but that said, this story is so well told. Through Gruen’s deft pen, we step into a world of an old man reflecting on days gone by when he worked as a veterinarian for a circus. The reader gets lost in the sequins, the cotton candy, and the ever-elusive quest for money, for love, and for understanding. This story is a commentary on age and love just as much as it is a ticket to another era.
Sifting through the various characters’ journeys (Rosie, the elephant included) was like watching an old film – the type that is sepia colors and has scratches that run randomly through the scenes. There is no sound, just the images that dance and dazzle as they move across the screen. And almost without realizing it, I was carried away on that train that carried the Benzini Brothers’ ringmaster, Jacob’s beloved Marlena, Silver Star, and the rest of the crew to dusty towns across the United States….
“Water for Elephants” is not must-read to me. It earns the high rating for quality of writing, attention to detail, and for masterful narrative rather than pure enjoyability. I think though, that I am in the minority when I say that it is not exceptional. If you’re going to see the move, do yourself a favor and read the book. It is worth appreciating before the story slips loudly into a theatre near you.

Justice: What's the right thing to do?

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ethical philosophy has attempted through the ages to define the parameters by which society should operate. Sandel, a charismatic and articulate Harvard professor, uses some of the most iconic philosophical viewpoints to examine the concept of justice. Through a utilitarian or virtue ethics lens, Sandel delves into current controversy, suggesting the pros and cons of the way each lens wields its judgment.

While the book occasionally drags, the ideas are well presented, well explained. The "so what" factor that Sandel uses to make his final argument for how society should define justice is brilliant. Personal time constraints do not allow for a full discussion, but I will leave you with the Bobby Kennedy quote that Sandel includes in the concluding pages-- It's life changing and absolutely deserves further discussion.

Our Gross National Product now is over 800 billion dollars a year. But that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts…the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud to be Americans. ~Robert Kennedy – March 1968

It's life changing and absolutely deserves further discussion. There's so much more that we can do to make this world more just, more inhabitable for our children and our families.

ps. I really do love that quote. Kennedy said over forth years ago, and yet it is exactly what is wrong with what we worry about as a country....Wish that great man had a chance to lead and inspire from the White House.