Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Rock-A-By, Baby...

Via Bitte Ein Kuss
How badly did you want to live on a deserted island a la Swiss Family Robinson when you were a kid? No, just me? ...well, and maybe the person (ahem. genius) who made this little slice of heaven? Yeah. That guy, too.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Oh Really...?


65 trillion dollars? Is that even a real monetary figure - or is it just imaginary numbers and a bunch of computers transferring worthless decimal points when you get to that stage?

Head's up on the demand for reparations on a war that ended 60 years ago courtesy Harper's Magazine (weekly review). Full article found the AP Newswire.

It will be interesting to examine this in terms of the broader implications, however. As the real problems aren't monetary in nature, neither can the solution be to simply toss money around. It will be nice to see an end to blame finding and "my way is better than yours" and simply step up to the plate and do the right thing.
...but what do I know.

In the Mood...


...for a little color. I don't know why, but I'm feeling so happy today! Okay... so maybe I know a little.

My Nana sent me birthday present and it came in the mail yesterday! I'm planning a vacation (finally!) and things are really starting to shape up. I don't want to jinx it - I really need this vacation (no... really) but once things are sorted and official, I'll spill the deets.

I hope the happy is contagious. Cheers!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Of Capital Importance...


When Nazy served with me here in Haifa, she and I used to go for walks and dream about all of the cool and (to our minds, at least) revolutionary things we could do with the world wide web....

Now that she's living in DC with her husband, she's got a bit of a headstart on me with her new blog (that I highly recommend)
i see dc.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Weekend Whimsy...

Courtesy my 'go to' awesome picture source.

Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, "you owe me."
Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.
- Hafiz

Learning to Take Turns...

Ginormous, scary as (insert word of your choice) jellyfish
Courtesy Bitte...

Scary monster of a jellyfish (that are not fish) living in an unknown ocean [please don't say the Mediterranean!!!] aside, it is jellyfish season here in Israel. So even though it's perfect beach weather, I'm going to take a pass....

There's only one antidote I know of for jellyfish stings/poison - and I don't know anyone like that.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Summer Music Series...

...or a shout out to the optimists in the world.


Her name is Lissie - and I'm obsessed.... She's so fresh and rock-and-roll. I also love this song - but it's not for sensitive viewers. At your leisure... enjoy!

Monday, June 21, 2010

On Palindrome...

Whether you have been waxing anticipatory ...or anticipatory waxing - happy first day of summer!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day...

Dear Dad,
Thanks for teaching me how to drive...
...and how to change spark plugs and to really love rock and roll.
And thanks for being my friend. I love you very much.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Upgrade Your Grey Matter...



The Colour Project is an initiative to transform dull grey spaces into colo(u)rful happy and cheerful spaces. Or at least colorful. Cool.

Credit where it is due: originally spotted on Black*Eiffel. The title of this post is directly ripped from Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Timely Reminder...

US Men's Football (Soccer) Team
World Cup 2010

This year for Father's Day... get your dad a tie?

Anatomically Correct...

The body ...beautiful - courtesy Le Love.

Sometimes I think that my not-so-secret romantic daydreams get the best of me.... But then I think - what if they are the best of me?

Yeah. I'm okay with that.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Double Whammy....

When I was a kid, my mom always said that I reminded her of a baby horse.

You know... all arms and legs and sort of clumsy, like? Yeah. Like that.

So a friend and I were chatting about horoscopes the other night - don't front... you've all done it! And we were talking about the Chinese zodiac. I learned that in addition to being born in the year of the horse, I was also born in the month of the horse.
Image courtesy Once Wed

Once upon a time at Borders (book store) I went up to the guy behind the “help me find this book” counter and asked where the Astronomy section was….. He was like “thank God! Finally a person who doesn’t want to read that astrology crap!”

Naturally the only galaxies far far away I’m interested in are explored by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard or a member of the Skywalker Dynesty… but I didn’t want to look like an even greater ‘khar’ so I just played along and went to find the horoscope section after he’d left. Ha!

They're On To Me...

Roll the credits....
Word of the Day for Thursday, June 17, 2010

oscitant \OS-i-tuhnt\, adjective:
1. Yawning, as with drowsiness; gaping.
2. Drowsy or inattentive.
3. Dull, lazy, or negligent.

Oscitant derives from the Latin oscitare, "to gape or yawn."

Monday, June 14, 2010

I Am A Donut....


It seems that a precedent has been found. Suddenly feeling like my geography teacher may not have been alone in his approach to instruction: this is America, this is Africa, this is Egypt, this is China and this is England/France/Germany.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

In Solidarity...

If you peek in every-so-often, you are likely aware that I'm a member of the Bahá’í Faith. If you have been following the news recently, you are likely aware of the fact that my spiritual brothers and sisters in Iran have come under an increased wave of persecution in recent years....
London
Berlin

The fourth court trial for the Yaran (elected leaders of the Bahá’í community in Iran) - 7 individuals who have been in Tehran's infamous Evin Prison for over 2 years - began yesterday. Until now, all trials have been closed despite promises to their families and attorneys.

In a show of support for these people who are wrongfully detained and persecuted, a global call for their release was issued yesterday.

Above: raising awareness in London, UK and Berlin, Germany. For more complete information, you may wish to peep this article.

I have been constantly amazed and impressed by the empathy exibited by the blogging and 'tech' community - a community that some could mistakenly interpret as disenchanted, detached and generally speaking "anti" - in areas of human rights. This community has championed the underdog and raised awareness on issues that are vital to society and yet are somehow ignored by the news media. I ask that you, my little family of bloggers, keep these people in your prayers and thoughts.

Thank you.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Less Talk, More Rock...



Head's up courtesy Hollister Hovey

Creative people really blow my mind, sometimes. I get the feeling that, come hell or high water, some people are just going to make art. ...or, you know, invent stuff.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Yes, Please...

Image courtesy Frolic

I'm heading to the beach tomorrow - and then a wedding on Saturday...! Clearly I'm in weekend count-down mode. Before I get too carried away - have a nice weekend. I plan to.

Also? How badly do you want to be on that swing right now? No... that's just me?

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Do Re Me Fa So La Te To....



Head's up courtesy I*Heart*You - thanks!

Remember the high-five that started it all? Well... let's just say that my imagination may be getting the best of me.

Translation: presently having a mini-fantasy where the powers that be have installed a piano in the stairwell of my building. As evidenced above - stranger things have happened. ...just saying.

Sloppy Baby!


We've been working with a new water polo coach. I met him last night…. At practice we had to scrimmage one of the best youth teams in Israel – which we lost. We, to be fair, made a grip of mistakes.

After the practice this new coach called us jelly fish. Basically out of shape and useless. HAHAHAHA.

I don’t understand Hebrew – but his meaning is pretty clear – so in my head he’s asking me if I think this is hard, I should try passing a kidney stone.
I think this could be fun.

Cheerio!

Go Green... Not Brown?

Mural artists Pamela J. Smith and R.E. Wall

If you're going to read this article about racism and fear of diversity, you'll probably want to sit down.

I am saddened and still more than a little shocked by this - but then I'm generally wont to expect the best in people. The fact that this controversy surrounds a school is, to my mind, the worst part of this whole story. I was going to be sarcastic and maybe even a little caustic just now - but it's counterproductive, I realize.

Just this, then - do better. Yeah. That's all I have. I've written things down only to erase them at least 472 times now....

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Impetus...

Courtesy Melody Ehsani

Just some of the things I like to think about when I'm praising and thanking God....

Monday, June 7, 2010

The Same Thing We Do Every Night...


No - not take over the world... Praise the Lord! No, seriously... I praise the Lord every night. Okay, so sometimes I just chat with Him - tell Him about my day, etc. But depending on circumstances in my life and/or the things on my mind, I have more serious conversations with God. Like recently. I won't say that I've been having what are commonly known as bad days - this is categorically untrue. But I'm at a juncture in my life where I need to more closely examine my goals and decisions. To speak plainly, I need to conquer my 'self' - more on this later.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught "O seeker of Truth! If thou desirest that God may open thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and commune with Him at midnight..."

So last night at shortly after midnight, I sang out with my heart and soul the following prayer:
"I adjure Thee by Thy might, O my God! Let no harm beset me in times of tests, and in moments of heedlessness guide my steps aright through Thine inspiration. Thou art God, potent art Thou to what Thou desirest. No one can withstand Thy Will or thwart Thy Purpose."

Did I mention the part where I have paper thin walls and a slightly tuneless voice (I mean charming)....

Sunday, June 6, 2010

To Infinity...

Image credit, Bitte...

Vocabulary lesson or word of the day - as you like.
penumbra \pi-NUHM-bruh\, noun:
1. An area in which something exists to an uncertain degree.
2. Astronomy. The partial or imperfect shadow outside the complete shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the light from the source of illumination is only partly cut off.
3. The grayish marginal portion of a sunspot.

Penumbra was coined as an astronomy term in 1660, but gained widespread modern usage after Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas wrote about penumbras in the U.S. Constitution, in the landmark 1965 case Griswold v. Connecticut.

...I'll know it when I see it?

Friday, June 4, 2010

Lost Art, Indeed...



So even though I think I'm finally getting the hang of iTunes and electronic musical filing systems, generally - I still really love record stores (this is my favorite name for free standing shops that sell music. Sue me).

About 5 years ago I was in a computer mega-store (maintaining anonymity because the name currently escapes me - but you know the kind...) :: they always had the best selection and prices. So here I am browsing the harmonious offerings, hoping to find something I couldn't live without - when I saw Carmen Rizzo's "Lost Art of the Idle Moment". Truthfully? I liked the cover art - got it home and totally fell in love with the album.

It is time (and past), methinks, to share it. Unless you and Sir Rizzo are besties ...in which case, where have you been all of my life?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Wide World of Aimee Piper...

Pretty picture found ...from where I no longer remember.
Give us a shout out if you recognize it....

Sometimes my technological ineptitude amazes even me. Lessons learned today: A server is not a browser - they are not ‘same same’.

A server is, in fact, a computer. But here’s the best part! The little black box doesn’t even need to be fancy! And I quote: “the simplest computer will do – you just need the right code and stuff”.

Okay… I clearly took liberties with the “code and stuff” – but Omid was over my head as soon as he said they are not the same because “;asrh;aoshmnAOwiefhnnknv”.

Thanks for humoring my work related annecdotes. You're the best.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

May Day...

3 am :: no makeup
Commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh

Sunset: Seawall in 'Akká

So I dug out the new (recycled) camera this weekend - I spent Friday afternoon until the pre-dawn hours of Saturday in the 'greater 'Akká area' as one of a relative few priviliged to commemorate the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh at the Spot of His Holy resting place.

I also had a water polo game against Tel Aviv (again) that we lost spectacularly (sigh... again). This time we played in Givat Haim - a kibbutz outside of Tel Aviv. They have a really rad pool - which is no surprise considering that community's long history with water polo and swimming. Alas, I didn't get any pictures from the game - but in my defense I was in the water.

June Gloom...


June gloom is a Southern California term for a weather pattern that results in overcast skies with cool temperatures during the late spring and early summer in the mornings and afternoons. For example, June is the cloudiest month of the year in San Diego. [information courtesy wikipedia.]

June gloom is also what happens when your friends leave on jet planes. For permanently. Like Will. ...sigh.
 
/* Use this with templates/template-twocol.html */