Sometimes You Win, Sometimes the Bear Wins

You gotta love this critter.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/31/bear-in-a-hammock-daytona-beach_n_5424012.html

Music Makes Gardening/Life Fun

As evidence below.

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/30/these_farmers_turned_blackstreets_no_diggity_into_an_organic_gardening_anthem/?source=newsletter

Classy Response

I had seen, but not read the emails that prompted this response, but Stanford's provost did a great job in responding to it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/stanford-snapchat-email-response_n_5419628.html

Really Clever

Check out how these artful pieces blend in with their surroundings.

http://www.boredpanda.com/street-art-interacts-with-surroundings.

Hat tip to Forrest.

Cat People are Smarter

There was never any doubt in my mind.

Check out the study below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/cat-people-dog-people-intelligence_n_5412245.html

Priceless Wisdom

“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.” - Maya Angelou

My Favorite

I'm not a fan of poetry.  Never have been.  Most of the time it takes too much work to figure out what the author is trying to say.

"Dude, just spit it out in plain English," is my usual response.

I know.

I know.

This shines a light on my ignorance and my country ways, but it is a truth I speak about myself.

Anyway, one of the poems that dispels everything I dislike about this genre is by Dr. Maya Angelou.

Enjoy the strength, and the passion of her words.



STILL I RISE

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you? 
Why are you beset with gloom? 
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken? 
Bowed head and lowered eyes? 
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you? 
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? 
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs? 

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise. 

California vs. Texas

Really?

There is no contest.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/05/29/its-no-contest-california-really-is-better-than-texas/?hpid=z10

This article comparing the two states is fascinating to me, being a native Texan who lived in California for more than twenty years.

But here's the dilemma.

Do I claim California and deny the influence that Texas has had on my life?  Like surviving Jim Crow and the horrors of the segregated South. Or, do I claim Texas and forget the joys of living in the trendsetting, forward-thinking Golden State?

What do you think?

In Honor of Dr. Maya

Phenomenal Woman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkYh2BYONms

May she rest in peace.

Hat tip to Fahizah.

I Love the New York Post!

I love them for this article on Kim and Kanye's wedding.  It's quick and dirty and oh so to the point.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/25/new-york-post-kimye-wedding_n_5389559.html

My sentiments exactly.

Really, who cares about these self-absorbed people?

Hair

Hair is highly esteemed in this culture.  Although you can't see it because it's always covered up, women are expected to keep their hair long.

Typically babies heads are shaved as newborns, and unlike other cultures like India, I don't think it's done for religious reasons, but rather, to encourage growth.  By the time they're school-aged, the little girls' hair is down to their waists.  By the time they're in fourth grade, they are required to cover it up.

A couple of months ago, I got a really short hair cut.  I wore it this short many years ago when I first started working.  The impetus for this change was the heat in Vietnam.  That heat, coupled with the humidity, was unbearable.  I also knew that experience was foreshadowing the heat to come here, although we don't have the humidity, thank God.  However, once you get past 100 degrees, hot is hot.

Well, folks thought I had lost my mind.  They could not believe I chopped off all of my hair willfully.  It really is seen as a woman's crowning glory, so to cut it like this is blasphemous.

Now, the saving grace is that I'm American.  I sometimes think we're seen as the wayward child.  You know the kid you look at and shake your head at his/her antics, but love him/her just the same.  As long as what we're doing is not seen as disrespectful of the culture, we're OK.

An example of disrespect would be to wear something that did not cover you up from top to bottom.  Chances are, you'd be asked to change.

Anyway, back to my hair.

One of the first things I did when I got divorced was cut it.  Frank always wanted it long, and being the dutiful wife that I was, I wore it that way.  Cutting it was liberating. Never again would I allow someone else to dictate how I look, what I wear, or anything else in my life.

My mantra is . . . if you like me, wonderful.  If you don't, that's OK, too.  Life is too short, so move on to someone that you do like.

Me . . . I'm OK with myself.  I like me, and quite frankly, that's all that matters.

Here's to living the life you want to live.

Take it from me, it's a blast.

From Inmate to CEO

What a powerful message this is!

This guy was in prison for four years, recognized a need while there, and when he got out, proceeded to produce a solution to the problem.

Be sure to watch the three minute video.  You may have to click it a couple of times for it to come on.

Inspiring.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/23/federal-prison-system_n_5379840

The Help

Mellody Hobson, who is CEO of an investment firm, tells of being mistaken for the help in 2006.  She has a powerful message on becoming "color brave" in this TED Talk.

Check it out below.

http://www.upworthy.com/an-executive-got-mistaken-for-kitchen-help-but-instead-of-getting-angry-she-turned-it-into-this?c=upw1

Good Strategy

This football team is targeting college grads in their recruitment.  That a change from the police blotter that many seem to use.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579572050338722302?mg=reno64-wsj&utm_source=Daily+Skimm&utm_campaign=dded1988f8-daily_skimm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_74efee6205-dded1988f8-24014177

Not Happy

These Iranians dancing to Pharrell Williams' song "Happy," have been arrested.

Sad.

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2014/05/iranian_authorities_jail_singers_for_being_happy.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=f0f4a4abce&mc_eid=ac9b7800d4

School Program

My school has an EXPO today and tomorrow, showcasing student work from this year.  It is an opportunity for community members and families to see some of the students' accomplishments.  There is a large room that is housing all of the artifacts, that are presented by grade level.  The photos below don't do it justice.  It really is very nice.

The culminating activities for our guests were a musical program, a tour of the exhibition hall, ending with a catered meal.

This is our orchestra.  It was the first time I had seen them perform.  They were terrific!  Interestingly, it is mixed with boys and girls.  This school is more progressive in that regard.  Also note the two young ladies who are serving refreshments.  This is their primary job at school, to make and serve tea and coffee.  They also help with clerical duties.  The men in the audience are our guests, and are sitting directly in front of the stage.  They are wearing traditional dress and military uniforms.  The women are sitting to the right of the stage.  We are always separated from the men. The students are wearing their regular uniforms - the girls have on long green dresses with white shaylas (the head scarves).  The boys are wearing the gandooras (the long white robes) with the traditional head dress, the keffiyeh.

These are some of our younger boys performing karate drills.  The gentleman directing them is one of our PE teachers.

Side note - We have an olympic size pool, and all of our kids second through fifth grade, rotate through swimming classes twice a week.  The pool is open to mothers one night a week, and the one time I visited, it was chock full of mommas.  They were completely covered with bathing suits that look like wet suits.  Really cool to see.

You may have noticed the auditorium is almost empty.  There are about sixty fifth grade girls watching the performance, but I didn't get a shot of them.  The other classes will be invited to see the performance tomorrow, when the mothers are visiting.  We didn't want any distractions from kids in the audience today.

The little girls out front are modestly dressed.  At my previous school, they would have been in evening gowns, with full makeup for something like this.

 Here's another selection from the choir.

I hope you've enjoyed this slice of my world.

Experiencing the World

Ben has a buddy that runs an organization called Global Glimpse that takes high school kids on immersion trips to Central and South America.  What an eye-opening experience for these kids.

Check it out below, and please share this info.  This is an opportunity of a lifetime for these kids.

http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/15-things-youth-need-thrive-america-1-unexpected-way-get/

Lemons

Here are a bunch of uses for lemons, most of which I had not heard of.

Here's to enlightenment.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1hsVer

Great Movie!

I finally saw "12 Years a Slave," the Academy Award Best Picture Winner.  It is a great movie, but tough to watch.  I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time, knowing that unspeakable atrocities could be/would be in every scene.

We've come a long way, for sure.

What is most amazing is that a movie displaying so much truth about this hellaciously evil time in our history, would be recognized as the best picture of the year.

I was reminded as recently as in today's newspaper, that people are oftentimes sent to prison now for mistreating animals, and yet not long ago, when people were savagely beaten, with the flesh ripped from their bodies, just cause, there were no consequences whatsoever.

NONE.

I was also reminded of the slave labor that built this country into the great land that it is, and how the effects of that warped, single-minded, single-benefactor system are still very much evident today.

How can you not be advantaged when you reap the benefits of centuries of preferential treatment in land ownership and jobs?

How can folks, in good conscience, fight against affirmative action (which amounts to a bone being thrown our way), when they have been the recipients of untold advantages for generations?

So, as much as I appreciated the making of this movie, and the spreading of this message, it brings an uneasiness about my writings about forgiveness to the forefront.

I know.

I know.

We must forgive these unspeakable, hateful, vengeful, murderous people/episodes in our history, but it's no easy task when our children are still being gunned down for posing 'imaginary' threats to murderous, gun-toting state-sponsored vigilantes.

Yes.

We've come a long way, but dear God, we still have miles to go.

The Power of a Tweet

I'm not a fan of most social media.  I'm not on Facebook, and wouldn't know how to tweet if my life depended on it. But, when used for good, these tools can provide the platform to become a powerful force.

Check out an example of this below.

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/16/saudi_arabian_boy_tweets_about_hospitalization_and_it_became_the_most_retweeted_message_ever_in_saudi_arabia/?source=newsletter