Sunday, March 30, 2008

Easter eggs!

Well, it's that time of year when Easter eggs means more than a hidden doodad on your favorite LOST dvd. And did Paloma ever get into the spirit! We were in Santa Barbara for a physics conference, and before we left I threw some plastic eggs in the suitcase to hide on a whim, just in case we didn't find an egg hunt.

When we got there, I got into the spirit of it and made her a basket full of goodies (that her dad and I ate!). I hid eggs around our hotel courtyard, and she had a ball discovering them. I think we have a new game around here, folks, one that will last the next few weeks at *least*! Woo hoo!





I had to add this. She *loved* this seahorse. I don't know why.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Jon Stewart on Obama!

If you didn't see Jon Stewart on Obama's race speech, I highly recommend it. Here's the clip for you. It is one of the funniest things I've seen on the Daily Show, which is saying something.



As Stewart points out, it's nice to be treated like an adult by a politician, instead of like some sort of adolescent beer buddy.

I must say, Jon Stewart's treatment of Obama's speech offers a lot more nuanced, intelligent analysis than *any* I've seen on major news outlets. He just is funny about it.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I'm here because of Ashley.

If you haven't read or seen Obama's speech for yourself, I can assure you that the mainstream media isn't doing it-- or you-- justice. I highly encourage you to take a few minutes to watch it or read it for yourself.

Here is a message and links from MoveOn.org:

"Did you hear Barack Obama's incredible speech on race in America? It was honest and moving. You should definitely check it out—especially since the media soundbites really missed the point.

You can watch or read the whole speech here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3511&id=12333-1221991-fWfn2p&t=546

If you're busy, here's a highlight from the speech:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3510&id=12333-1221991-fWfn2p&t=547

"We have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle—as we did in the OJ trial—or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina—or as fodder for the nightly news.

"We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words.

"We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

"We can do that.

"But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

"That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

"This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

"This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

"This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

"I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation—the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

"There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today—a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

"There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

"And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

"She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

"She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

"Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

"Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, 'I am here because of Ashley.'

"'I'm here because of Ashley.' By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

"But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins." "

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Geraldine Ferraro, you are my new Robin Morgan

That is- yet *another* totally out of touch second wave feminist. She is so ignorant of race and politics, it'd be laughable if it weren't so destructive to the Democratic Party. As usual, Daily Kos says it succinctly and well.

Ferraro thinks being black helped Obama, that if he had been a white man he wouldn't have gotten as far? Well, who's to say how far he would have gotten since his life experiences inextricably include his race. But yeah, I'm *sure* being black was super-helpful to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. What an advantage! Ferraro's race analysis is shockingly simple-minded.

Sorry for the sharpness. I'm just so done with the Clinton camp.

find chuck norris

This was just brought to my attention and since everyone needs a laugh...

Go to google.com and type in "Find Chuck Norris." Then press the "I Feel Lucky" button.

:)

Saturday, March 08, 2008

dancing through motherhood

This is mostly crossposted from WordyDoodles.

I loved this article in the SF Chronicle today. It was about an ODC dancer who had a baby and how it changed her dancing and her life.

Even if you've never danced formally, you'll be able to relate to her and appreciate her (and her husband's) revelations. There's a wonderful message about why we as parents should prioritize our happiness.

But let's start with ODC, which is proving itself to be not only at the top of their game artistically, but also administratively. The fact that the artistic director and other top brass at the company say things like, "We're always going to have a space for you, there's no pressure to come back this season," and "We've been through it. I don't think anything makes it easy, but I think it helps to be in an environment where you know that people understand that. We know that the less comfortable and secure you feel about your baby's care, the less you'll be able to do," proves that they're on the leading edge of family-friendly workplaces.

But perhaps my favorite quote is from Yayoi Kambara herself: "Becoming a mom, she says, has made her clearer on what she really wants for herself.

'I believe that we as individuals have to be happy in order to make our children happy. It's so important to us that Hanae [her daughter] feels confident and that she feels she can do anything that she wants to do, that she dreams whatever she wants and then goes ahead and does it. And if we didn't do that for ourselves, then how is she going to learn that?'"

Amen to that!

dancing mama

I loved this article in the SF Chronicle today. It was about an ODC dancer who had a baby and how it changed her dancing and her life.

Even if you've never danced formally, you'll be able to relate to her and appreciate her (and her husband's) revelations.

But let's start with ODC, which is proving itself to be not only at the top of their game artistically, but also administratively. The fact that the artistic director and other top brass at the company say things like, "We're always going to have a space for you, there's no pressure to come back this season," and "We've been through it. I don't think anything makes it easy, but I think it helps to be in an environment where you know that people understand that. We know that the less comfortable and secure you feel about your baby's care, the less you'll be able to do," proves that they're on the leading edge of family-friendly workplaces.

But perhaps my favorite quote is from Yayoi Kambara herself: "Becoming a mom, she says, has made her clearer on what she really wants for herself.

'I believe that we as individuals have to be happy in order to make our children happy. It's so important to us that Hanae [her daughter] feels confident and that she feels she can do anything that she wants to do, that she dreams whatever she wants and then goes ahead and does it. And if we didn't do that for ourselves, then how is she going to learn that?'"

Amen to that!