Category: Fun & Entertainment

Out of Touch

On By SarahIn Fun & Entertainment, OpinionLeave a comment

Moving across the country and starting a new job is one of those life events that makes one self-absorbed and out of touch. For a good two to three weeks I haven’t really paid attention to the news. I have occasionally turned on the radio, the TV, downloaded podcasts, and read news headlines on the Internet. Emails from my family updated me on the fires in Southern California so I know that my cousin was evacuated and is okay (we don’t know about her home yet, though). I was a little embarrassed that I found out about the Red Sox winning the World Series a couple of days after the fact. I learned from Peter Sagal on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me that Barak Obama and Dick Cheney are distant relatives.

When I watching the Daily Show the other night, Jon Stewart covered the media coverage of Gov. Shwarzenegger’s praise for the emergency response to the fires, I got really mad.

I am saddened by the news of the fires, and my heart goes out to those who are now left homeless.

But I am also sickened by the backslapping politicians congratulating each other on the gourmet salads, yoga classes, and massage that are being offered to firestorm victims. I mean, sure, yah, it’s great and all, and if I were a victim of one of those fires I would want a massage, too.

But I can’t help but think of the victims of Hurricane Katrina who after two years, as the Southern California fires burn, are barely surviving in FEMA trailers, who were not treated to fresh water just after the disaster, much less to a yoga class or a massage.

Jon Stewart’s comment to the over-abundance of food donations for the fire victims as compared to the provisions for Katrina victims was something like “The lesson here is don’t go through a natural disaster if you’re poor.”

The hypocrisy is infuriating and depressing.

I think I prefer to go back to unpacking and preparing to start my new job tomorrow.

Goofy Foot

On By SarahIn Fun & EntertainmentLeave a comment

My friends are going to think I have lost my mind. Skaters will likely call me a poser. Perhaps it is all true. But I consider this my ecologically friendly mid-life convertible (a little early, I would emphasize).

I have secretly harbored a desire to be a skater for years. I work with a guy who custom makes beautiful skateboards, so Gillian broke down and got me one for my birthday. I had my first lesson the other day, and I’m hooked. It is so fun! I also found out that I am a goofy foot (I prefer to lead with my left foot, though I am right-handed).

Here I am with Gillian and Christopher, the maker.

Skateboard.jpg

Here is Christopher’s website, Malu Long Boards.

How could I not be inspired to skate? Now that we’re moving to Chicago (more on that later), you can spot me in the spring cruising on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Top Ten Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Should Not Be Allowed*

On By SarahIn Fun & Entertainment, OpinionLeave a comment
  1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
  2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
  3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
  4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
  5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
  6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.
  7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
  8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
  9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
  10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

*I blatantly stole this from another blogger, who had copied it from somewhere else.

Why I Love Ma.gnolia

On By SarahIn Community, Friends & Family, Fun & Entertainment, Internet3 Comments

I have become a social networking fool. You can find me at any one of many social networking sites, most of which I list in the side bar of my blog. By far, Ma.gnolia is my favorite.

Ma.gnolia was founded by my friend and fellow Earlhamite, Larry Halff. Put simply, Ma.gnolia is a tool where you can save and share bookmarks. This is useful for many reasons. First, you can access your favorite sites from any computer. You can also create your own tags, essentially categorizing, and organizing your bookmarks in a way that feels natural to you.

The beauty of it is that you can share your sites with others who share your interests, and discover new sites in the same way. This is where the social part comes in. You can create or join groups with shared interests (like knitting or yoga). You can also have contacts with other Ma.gnolia members, which also facilitates sharing sites. The three latest links that your contacts and groups have saved appear on your home page. There’s also little side bar menus which show you the most recent links that random people have saved. You can also see the “Hot Groups” which shows you groups that are particularly active. It is so satisfying to see my links and my groups appear in those side bar menus. It makes me feel so popular.

One really nice feature is that you can thank people for their links. I have made a few contacts that way, thanking or being thanked. I was thrilled the day that Henry thanked me for my Out in Scripture link. It was just such a nice thing to be thanked for sharing a link that I like. I added him as a contact after I saw his link to the Music Row Democrats, a website for promoting country musicians with progressive politics. Since then, I have been able to keep tabs on the links that Henry is sharing, which is really cool because he is discovering stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily come across on my own.

I have waded into the waters of social networking, blogging, and the like this past year, tentatively exploring the possibilities. Information professional and shy person that I am, this is a perfect way for me to gently put feelers out there and see what building on-line community is all about. I plan to do more on a professional level in the coming months, but I’m still feeling a little be timid about it. The personal and the professional really collide here, and I have been more comfortable having a clear separation between my two worlds.

However, as I go further down the road into management in my career, I really appreciate it when people bring their whole selves into the work place. It’s how creativity can really be applied to help build a better mouse trap, if you will. So, to lead by example, I will begin to share more of what I am setting up professionally with my colleagues, starting with two groups that I have created on Ma.gnolia, Development Research and Fundraising and Philanthropy.

Sharing these Ma.gnolia groups more widely with my professional colleagues will give folks access to my personal web presence. They’ll be able to check out my Ma.gnolia profile, see what groups I’m interested in, and check out the link to my blog, which will lead them to my presence on Pandora, MySpace, or Cork’d, which will tell you what I think about the wine I am drinking (though I have yet to use this one much, I just think it’s really cool).

Ultimately, This is what I want, because this is bringing social networking to full fruition, which I feel I have yet to do. I’m nervous about it, but Ma.gnolia is a web tool that I think my fellow information professionals will get really excited about.

And that’s what social networking is all about, right?

My Horoscope for Today

On By SarahIn Fun & EntertainmentLeave a comment

Though I’m not one to promote astrology, like many people I think it’s fun to check my horoscope occasionally, especially around my birthday. The horoscopes from Tarot.com have been eerily accurate or appropriate for Gillian this year. Not so much for me, but I check them for both of us anyway.

I like my horoscope today. It is quite applicable to my current state of mind and spirit. And it is still my birth month, so I’m just going with it.

You aren’t operating under any illusions now, yet strangely enough you’re more optimistic than before. Part of your exuberance comes from the fact that you know what you are worth and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t lose faith, even if it’s been a long, hard haul. Your destination is within reach.