Thursday, April 30, 2009

Yeah, It's Like That...

Sorry that I'm, like, the least tech savvy person you know right now - but click the image. It's pretty much perfect.

Oh. And if anyone knows how I can make these kind of images that I love so well, and pop up with according frequency (even though I clearly suck at posting them efficiently) on my blog, work - holler at your girl. Because sharing is caring.

Here, Have a Smile... It's On Me

I don't know who this baby is - but I totally want to be his friend! Honestly. A great and easy smile is high on my list of things to appreciate in a person....
Photo courtesy of JO.

I'm Not An Expert, But...

Let's not all go crazy, friends. I understand that this is probably scary as heck for some people. But how about some unsolicited-I'm-giving-it-anyhow advice?
Wash your hands. A lot.
Drink water - a lot.
And eat soup - preferably vegetable soup with onions and garlic for good measure.

Okay. Be healthy.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

...Critical Mass

I have reached it. Sigh. Time to get back into the running - good thing it's spring again and the weather is picking up!
Now that we've found the silver lining... I'm going to (hopefully not so literally - although my klutz factor is wont to be rather high) hit the streets of Haifa - but you (yes. you.) can enjoy this song. *Train Song: Feist and Ben Gibbard cover Vashti Bunyan*
It.Is.Amazing.
Head's up on the song? Courtesy NPR: Song of the Day

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Le Sigh... Paper Heart

Wow! I have to see this!
*and I'm afraid I may have used an expletive in all of my excitement... sigh. aimee piper!*



Trailer: courtesy of le Love. Like Black*Eiffel, you should really be checking it out.

A New Day Is Come...

Bahá’ís all over the world are in the midst of celebrating Ridván - a time to celebrate the Divine Springtime fortold by the Messengers of the past. This is the time in which Bahá'u'lláh announced to the world His coming and the Manifestation of God for today. In honor of the Occasion of His Manifestation, He Revealed this prayer; it is one of my favorites - for reflection, for the praise of God, and (hopefully) for transformation. I hope that you enjoy, as well.


Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who are my God! Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest and most hidden of the hidden!
- Bahá'u'lláh

Friday, April 24, 2009

Trend Spotting...

1 Tea Party
1 Dance Party 1 Girl
...who apparently doesn't really love the camera.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

...She's Done It Again

She, in this instance, would be Rachel - at Black*Eiffel... and you really should be checking her stuff out.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Definition, Please...

So I read my dictionary - but you probably already know that. My favorite is clearly my Oxford Dictionary of Current English (3rd ed.)
Sometimes I rely a little heavily on spell check - which the fine folks at blogger.com did not see fit to install with the standard version of A Day in the Life... - but it's cool because I keep my little handy dandy OED nearby, just in case style. One of the reasons I like my OED so well is because it tells me the origin of the word; sometimes, based on the origin of a particular word, I'm prompted to look up newer and different(er) words.
Just now, for my previous post (see below) in fact, I wanted to know how to spell mesmerize (I thought there were more z's than the doctor actually ordered) - so I looked it up. You will never guess what I learned!
*ahem*
mesmerism (n.) dated hypnotism.
- ORIGIN named after the Austrian physician Franz A. Mesmer

Kind of cool, huh?

Fascinating, I'm Sure...

"Dear iTunes,
Thank you for Control T - I swear sometimes it makes the music better."

*Excerpted from Things You Can Do, And Ways to Entertain Yourself When You've Read All of Your Books Several Times, And You Have No T.V. - coming soon to a self promoting e.t.s.y. blog store near you.*

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sea Change...

So I decided to make cooking my hobby shortly after I arrived at the Bahá'í World Centre - I figured that I could always go back to making a sandwich or (I know...) a bowl of cereal if I failed, but if I succeeded, well then I'd have something really great to eat!

A good friend of mine, Mr. Joseph K. Fradella (the names of some of the people in this story have been changed in order to protect the identity of the innocent), quickly emerged as my 'go t0' quality control expert. We would have these Thursday night 'Traditional Dinners' where I could try out new recipes and perfect old favorites. It was pretty glorious, friends.
Alas... Joe is leaving us! *I mean me* In fact, next Thursday is his last night in Haifa - sigh. To quote Morrissey, "we're really missing you"... and you're not even gone.

That's one of the realities of serving here, though - eventually we all leave.

Other things that won't be the same?

Star Wars RISK (aka 'my summer')

ABBA

subtitles

abbreviations

Thursday, April 16, 2009

And Now a Message for Our Sponsors...

Known to you all as my family. I love you guys.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Dear Radiohead...

Thank you for getting me through this afternoon. I couldn't have done it without you. Truly.

And incase you missed it from a while back, let me remind you of one of the best and most powerful videos I've seen in a while. Watch, listen, learn, love.

!!!

Have you ever been so excited that your whole body vibrated with it? Yeah, I'm pretty much uncontainable right now.... Hoda is here, in the Holy Land! Parisa is coming to the Holy Land - and so is Sanaz, she just doesn't know it, yet. ...mwhahahahaha.

Parisa, Hoda, Sanaz
(respectively)

On 'Why My Friends Are So Talented'...

So I'm regularly in awe as to how talented (truly) my friends are. Take this picture, for example. Kadria Simons, people. Learn the name - she's going places.
Speaking of going places, I'm getting to that point in my service here at the Bahá’í World Centre where I need to figure out where to go and what to do....
Kind of daunting, but trust that my decision making process will - in some way, shape, or form - be reflected here. Stay tuned!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Virtuality...

Two years ago I chanced upon a deck of cards - but not just any cards! These are virtues cards - each card has a virtue on it, the definition of the virtue, and what it looks like when the virtue is being practiced - affirmations, if you will. So every once-in-a-while I like to pick a card at random and read what's up. I think of it as a kind of "virtues project" - but they're really just things I'd like to meditate on, to consider how I can grow spiritually and hopefully, as a result, contribute to the growth of my culture and society.
Yesterday I read two (!!) - I know, but I haven't read them in a while, and these two were already on my desk. So I thought to myself, self - you should read those and think about them for awhile. And you know what? After I read them - I felt totally better. So much so that I thought you might like to read them, too.

Photo: Courtesy of Frolic
*I've actually had this picture saved for a long time - this seemed to be just the ticket*
Courage:
Courage transforms fear into determination. It is embracing life fully, without holding back, doing what must be done even when it is difficult or risky. When we are tempted to give up, courage supports us to take the next step. It allows us to face adversity with confidence. Courage opens us to new possibilities, and gives us the strength to sacrifice for what we love. At times we need courage to accept the truth, and to pick ourselves up after a mistake, ready to make amends and try again. Courage gives me the strength to make this journey with all my heart.

Heart, be brave. If you cannot be brave, just go. Love’s glory is not a small thing.” – Jalal’u’Din Rumi

Hope:
Hope is looking to the future with trust and faith. It is optimism in the face of adversity. Without hope, we lose our will to live fully. Hope gives us the courage to keep moving forward. It can be elusive when we have suffered often, yet it is the light that can redeem our dreams. With hope, we know we are not alone. There is always help when we are willing to ask. There are gifts to be gleaned from all that happens. With hope, we find the confidence to try and try again.

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” – Barbara Kingsolver

p.s. I L.O.V.E. (!) this quote from Rumi - here it is again: “Heart, be brave. If you cannot be brave, just go. Love’s glory is not a small thing.” – Jalal’u’Din Rumi

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

...Paradise Lost

So I'm reading Paradise Lost by Sir John Milton. Let me clear - I find it to be miserable going... but like certain characters of this epic (dude. seriously epic...) poem, I've brought this misery on myself. My need to finish reading this and subsequently dissect it thoughtfully (sans the vitriol of my usual discussion of it) has reached critical mass, and I'm now reading a book every day or so.
Last night I read book 4 (of 12). This book was actually much better paced than its predecessors - namely because Satan didn't spend 1,000 lines whinging about how he lost Heaven; nor did God wax epic (ahem...) about what a mess Satan made of things - but how He knew it was going to happen that way anyhow, so there.
Friends, there was dialogue in this one! And it actually made me giggle - get this, Satan (*as created in Milton's mind as a character in Paradise Lost) is funny. Check out what he says to Gabriel when he's caught red-handed in the Garden of Eden: (Gabriel asked him why he left Hell to come to Earth)
"Gabriel, thou hadst in Heav'n th' esteem of wise, And such I held thee; but this question asked Puts me in doubt."

*Milton was completely blind by the time he wrote Paradise Lost. In fact, he dictated it to his daughters....

Sunday, April 5, 2009

How Did She Know?

So I'm from Orange County, CA. You may hear people who think they know (but have no idea) refer to it as 'the OC' - this label actually makes me cringe. Since this is a family friendly (mostly) PG kind of a blog, I won't get into the deets....

Oh. And ps? I love Corinne Bailey Rae. It's like she put my exact thoughts in her video - and it's even filmed in Southern California.

Head's up on the video? Courtesy I *Heart* You - which you should totally be following....

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...

Image found via A Cup of Jo
Sometimes I get really homesick.
Thankfully this daydream is possible on a myriad miles of coastline....
Ahem.
 
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