Sunday, May 10, 2009
Nerd Prom!!
I had the best time last night watching the White House Correspondent's Dinner on CSpan and reading everyone's tweets. Obama rocked it! Just in case you missed it:
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Great Advice I Wish I'd Thought to Give
Sharon had a great post over on 50 Something Moms
When each one of my children was ready to start high school, I wanted to impress upon them the importance of words. There is a saying that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. And once people know who you are, it matters how you say what you say, and when and where you say it.
I sat down with each of my children the week before they started ninth grade. We made ourselves comfortable at the kitchen table. This was not meant to be a touchy-feely talk about what may or may not happen. It was a reality check about high school culture. I told them to expect that anything they said could become a rumor in a locker room or fodder for cafeteria gossip. I said that nothing stays a secret in high school. Everything is fair game. I told them that other students might not intend to make trouble, but that words are power and people sometimes grab for power at the expense of others. The best solution was to say to anyone only what could be heard by everyone.
Great advice for us all, right?
When each one of my children was ready to start high school, I wanted to impress upon them the importance of words. There is a saying that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. And once people know who you are, it matters how you say what you say, and when and where you say it.
I sat down with each of my children the week before they started ninth grade. We made ourselves comfortable at the kitchen table. This was not meant to be a touchy-feely talk about what may or may not happen. It was a reality check about high school culture. I told them to expect that anything they said could become a rumor in a locker room or fodder for cafeteria gossip. I said that nothing stays a secret in high school. Everything is fair game. I told them that other students might not intend to make trouble, but that words are power and people sometimes grab for power at the expense of others. The best solution was to say to anyone only what could be heard by everyone.
Great advice for us all, right?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Jon Stewart Kicks Azz!
Daniel Sinker said it right, tho. It's not about being funny. And it's not about Jim Cramer . . .
"When we can't compete with a comic in terms of speaking truth to power, then it's more clear than ever that journalism in the US has lost its way. It comes as no surprise then when, as newspapers crumble around the country, a report like the one released by the Pew Research Center this week says that only 33% of people would miss their local newspaper "a lot." When you lead with a story about an interview that happened on a comedy show--and it's the very same story that almost everyone else is leading with as well--what's to miss?
What's to miss--the refrain is always repeated--is the investigative reporting that helps to keep our leaders honest, our water clean, our businesses pure. What's to miss is people asking fearless questions to those that need them asked. What's to miss is the deep pockets that can fund a reporter to dig and dig and dig until she's able to uncover some fragile truth. And yes, that stuff is vital to the functioning of a democracy. It also, let's speak the truth here, doesn't happen very often.
Traditional news organizations have nothing to lose right now. Why not take a gamble at the one thing they haven't tried: being fearless. Stewart would probably appreciate the company."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-sinker/this-song-aint-about-you_b_174851.html
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
No More Teenagers
This weekend marked the 20th year anniversary of the last time I was pregnant!
Not coincidentally, The Boy celebrated his 20th birthday. No more teenagers...
a mixed blessing this empty nester is starting to get used to. Maybe . . .
Not coincidentally, The Boy celebrated his 20th birthday. No more teenagers...
a mixed blessing this empty nester is starting to get used to. Maybe . . .
Friday, February 13, 2009
Bicentennial Birthdays
There have been more specials, books and conversations regarding Abraham Lincoln in the past 4-5 months. At first I thought it was just because of the election, but it was actually all leading up to the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Born on the same day and same year as Lincoln, Charles Darwin would also be celebrating his 200th birthday yesterday. For all the years I'd heard about both great men, this was the first time I'd ever been aware they were contemporaries.
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