Yael Naim

You've probably heard this song on the new Mac commercials, but I saw this video a while ago and really wanted to post it, but then I forgot. I really really like this song - and the video.

Say What?

So, I was browsing through the Newsweek today and I came across this quote that I just had to share:

"Victims of stalking are not alone."

-Texas First Lady Anita Perry, at a press conference to announce the establishment of a statewide "Stalking Awareness Month."

I read it about 5 times and it still makes me chuckle (as well as be grateful that I do not have the opportunity to screw up what I say in such a public sphere).

Find of the Day

So I heard about this site set up by FOUND magazine. It's called Find of the Day. Here's what the website says:

"We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles - anything that gives a glimpse into someoneelse's life. Anything goes..."

It's totally fascinating - you should really take a look.

{Via How About Orange}

Tribute

I really don't think there's anything that I can say at this moment that won't sound trite. All I can say is that President Gordon B. Hinckley will be missed.

Cake...Part 2

After I posted the previous post, I found this cake stand that I really like in this Etsy shop.

A Cake For All Purposes

So lately I have really fallen in love with the idea of using a colorful cake stand to put on a dresser or counter to hold various items like perfume bottles, etc. I was sitting here printing up the programs for church (because I'm too lazy today to want to get there 2 hours early just so I can get into the library to print them) when I decided to look up some cake stands on ebay for the heck of it. I don't have any money, but it's always fun to dream. Here are a few that I like:

There's this red one that I like because of the details, but I'm not such a big fan of the color.

Or this. I really like this one, and it is low so I think it would work well on my dresser.

This one is also one that I am loving. I have seen these in other places, but I just really like the vintage feel of it.

Snorta What?

So, everyone in the family (barring Nathan) is currently here at my parents house in California for the weekend as all the girls (and Dave) are going to the Garth Brooks Benefit Concert this evening. Now, I have to admit that even though I haven't really been into country music lately, I am excited to go to a concert to see one of the best selling artists of all time. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, last night after the kids were all put to bed, my sister pulled out this game:

Now, to get the idea, imagine 7 adults sitting around a table saying things like this:

"Moo, Who, no - Ribbit! Not Ribbit? What? Oh! Oh! Cock a doodle...Man! I couldn't think of it fast enough!"

It was the most hilarious thing ever. It's basically like war, but when you put down the same card as someone else, you have to make the sound of the animal they have before they make the sound of yours. Not only that, but the animals are hidden after the intial picking out of the bag at the beginning. Trust me, with 7 people and 7 animals, this gets very confusing and very hilarious. It was totally fun and I definitely recommend it for any group (even with 4 it was still really fun). You can find it here.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sarah and Spencer who just got engaged!

You Hold My Heart...

Okay, so I am totally on a blogging spree today, so bear with me. Due to a recent conversation with Autumn through goodreads.com, I was reminded of some beautiful Mozambican poetry that we studied last year. I wanted to share two poems with you that I fell in love with. Here's the first one by Gloria de Sant'Anna (keep in mind that this is the English translation done by Frederick G. Williams):

Poem for a Rainy Day

My home is a lighthouse in the middle of the night.

Come, whoever you may be

at first you'll be like the stem of a flower
dripping over the carpet

and we will watch you
as the color of the rain

but, immediately, almost immediately
you will feel in yours the warm palms
of our hands

and you will find in the design of our smiles
the translation of the hour.

This next one is one of the most amazing love poems that I have ever read. I will admit that I think it is even better in Portuguese, but I am posting the English translation so that you will also fall in love. Autumn and I both agree that we can't get over this poem. We got to meet, the author, Mia Couto, who is a writer and professor in Mozambique, and was at that time helping with plans to expand a Great Park (like Kruger) into Mozambique. Here it is:

For You

It was for you
that I unfolded the rain
for you I loosened the perfume of the earth
I touched upon the nothing
and for you it was everything

For you I created all the words
and all of them were lacking
the moment when I felled
the savor of forever

For you I gave voice
to my hands
I opened the buds of time
I assaulted the world
and I thought that everything was within us
in that sweet deception
of owning everything
not having anything
simply because it was nighttime
and we weren't sleeping
I descended into your bosom
in order to find myself
and before the darkness
would gird our loins
we remained in our eyes
living from one look only
loving from one life only

Sigh. Need I say more?

Hedgehog Mania

Okay, so you may think I am strange, but I have had an obsession/love for hedgehogs ever since I saw one scurrying along the side of the road in England to get away from our bus. It was the cutest little ball of quills and I totally fell for it. I definitely prefer hedgehogs over the opossums that we have in abundance here in Southern California. Anyway, I just fell in love with this charm necklace of an adorable little hedgehog and wanted to share it.

Since I only wear one necklace, I would love to put this little guy on a keychain or something to carry around with me. Please?

{via Oh Joy}

Sartorialist

So, I really love checking out this site. It is full of great fashion pics of people on the streets of New York and Italy - keep in mind these are pics of people on the street, not staged magazine shoots. Check it out at thesartorialist.blogspot.com. You will be inspired.

Bishop Allen

I really like this song (and music video) by Bishop Allen. Enjoy.

{via Black Eiffel}

Addendum

After posting the previous post, I totally remembered this kid who used to come into the Testing Center at school wearing a black cape and he would always be holding crystal balls in his hand, reminiscent of the movie. I don't know if he knows that the job of being David Bowie is being done, quite well, by, well, David Bowie. Maybe I'm wrong and there is an occupation out there for a Bowie-copying crystal-ball manipulating professional. Really. You never know.

Magical Trees

I have this weird desire to have huge trees in my yard someday (a lot of them), and have slightly hidden tree faces on some of them. Call me weird, but I think it's kinda cool and magical - I can just see kids playing with talking trees (the images are just from a Google search).
Anyway, so I was thinking of reasons why this seems to fun and magical to me. I first thought of Pocahontas with the talking tree that is an old woman (which by the way, my nephew was totally freaked by when the talking tree in the MGM Grand Rainforest Cafe came to like and started moving and talking). Barring that, I am intrigued by the idea. My favorite example, though, I think is from the all-time classic Labyrinth. If you haven't viewed this 80s cinematic wonder featuring David Bowie (in the tightest pants known to man outside of the ballet world) and Jennifer Connelly, you absolutely MUST watch it. As kids we used to watch the film non-stop and to this day I still have the lyrics memorized. "You remind me of the babe. What babe? The babe with the power. What power? The power of voodoo. Who do? You do. Do What? Remind me of the babe." I'll stop there. I came across this amazing trailer for the movie on YouTube and wanted to share it with you all. Really, if you want to see the movie I do have a copy and you can come over anytime. It will be an event that you will never forget.

Seriously...

Seriously, can we be done with this?

O.J Simpson held in Florida on alleged bail violation

Maybe we should all take lessons on how to make a career out of continual publicity due to complete stupidity. How frustrated does it make me that someone so incompetent got away with murder due to stupid mistakes by others? Sheesh - can we report on something we care about, like perhaps the continuing downfall of any stability whatsoever in Kenya? I would even prefer more news about the writer's strike than this (and that's extreme).

Ta Da!

Wow. I finally finished The Good Earth. What a testament to the power of putting things down in writing and/or blogging and following through on resolutions!
All in all, it was not one of my favorite books. I am glad that I read it, but I really had a hard time sympathizing with any of the characters. Not that I always expect to sympathize with all characters in a book, but I like it when I do. I do have respect for Ms. Buck's ability to instill in the reader a fascination for the protagonist's emotional attachment to the land. The only stable thing. I was also fascinated by her portrayal of a man who is completely unaware of the intense political situation around him. It was also interesting to see his journey to becoming what he used to resent and helped to destroy, reminiscent of The Animal Farm. Ah well, I am so happy that I already finished one of my books. I haven't decided if this will be on my list of 12 books, but I have recently started Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. So far (just a couple of chapters in), I am enjoying her writing style and character depictions. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I don't own this one yet, but on the strong recommendation of A, I am thinking that East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, may be put on the list of 12 books for the year. If I can acquire it, I may begin reading it very soon. Has anyone read this? J? What did you think?

Incentivize

My new favorite word: incentivize

in·cen·ti·vize –verb (used with object), ‑vized, ‑viz·ing.
to give incentives to: The government should incentivize the private sector to create jobs.
[Origin: 1965–70, Americanism]

I heard it from the mouth of John McCain during the New Hampshire Debates and had to look it up - am I the only one who doubted that it was a real word? In true fashion, I had to look it up and dictionary.com came through. I am still hoping for that Oxford English Dictionary one day...sigh.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

As one of my 10 resolutions for 2008, I have the goal to read (or finish) one book a month. I know this seems a very small amount, and, granted, I will read many more books than that, but I needed the incentive to get through some that I have started. I have goals to read some lofty books, but I tend to begin them and then never finish. Hence, I will be posting on the side which book I am attempting to finish for the month in an effort to read something a little more substantial than the adolescent lit that I have recently become attached to (not to say that adolescent lit can't be substantial, but I hope you understand the sentiment). Anyway, in light of this, my goal for January is to finish The Good Earth. J will understand my need to finally finish this book as I have a tendency to pick it up and read about 20 pages before putting it down for another month. I could contemplate the reasons for this, but it is not because I don't think it's a good read. Anyway, that's the goal for January. Wish me luck!

Here are a couple of other resolutions that I don't mind sharing (a couple are too personal):

• Try cooking something new at least once a month (I know that doesn't sound hard, but I'm starting small and on a very tight budget).


• Find a secure full-time job.


• Visit somewhere new (I was inspired by S in this one).


• Somehow visit all 4WMs during the year.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Another movie that I really want to see: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Check out the site - it sounds really amazing. By the way, I did see La Vie En Rose which was amazing. Pretty intense and kind of in-your-face, but the acting was magnificent and the whole story mind-boggling. (not very happy, though)

Around the World...

Those who know me well know that I have a burning desire to travel. Some might call it an obsession, all I know is that it keeps me perpetually low on funds. For the past couple of days I have been battling the mother of all colds, and as I sit here breathing only through my mouth, I thought I would dream about possible future travels. For a while now I have been fighting the urge to visit Bhutan.
For those of you who don't know, Bhutan is really the last real Bhuddist kingdom left. It is situated at the base of the Himalayas next to Nepal, and is just absolutely beautiful. Due to a desire to keep their cultural heritage unchanged as long as possible by outsiders, Bhutan limits tourists to travel in groups directly with certain tour companies. All I know is that if I went I would stay here:


And would do everything to visit this monastery here:

Anyone want to join me? I would need some definite cash-flow first, unfortunately.

News Update

Disheartening...

Awakening...

Amusing...