22 December 2008

Say Yes

Say YES. It gets you unstuck. It opens the door to experiences you would not have had. It makes life interesting. Sometimes the best stuff to say yes to is the most random. I once asked my friend Justice to go with me to sing happy birthday to a friend of ours at 6am . We sprayed silly string all over him when he staggered to the door. Justice said yes. My son asked me to play playdough this morning. I said yes. We developed a story about bears that became strange and crazy by the end. Ask people to say yes. Say yes.

(I realize there is a new movie with Jim Carey, The Yes Man. A reference to it would feel corny. Woops, I just referenced it.)

19 December 2008

TED

I've been hooked on this website for a few weeks now. TED is an invitation only conference for only the smartest people in the world. My joke: "I'm the keynote speaker this year." Insert yours here...It's inspiring, thought-provoking, and just downright entertaining.

Here are my six favorites so far:
  1. School Kills Creativity
  2. The Best Stats You've Ever Seen
  3. The Mystery Box
  4. Once Upon a School (very inspiring!)
  5. The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives
  6. Tidying up Art
Let me know what you think.

09 December 2008

Sufjan Stevens, Anne Rice, Christopher Moore, Etsy, and Foster Care

I submit the following for your Christmas (if that's your holiday...this holiday season) enjoyment/consumption:
1. Sufjan Stevens, Songs for Christmas. This box set of random Christmas stuff will change your opinion of Christmas tunes. If you just want to buy a few songs from itunes. Buy these: The Friendly Beasts; Holy, Holy, Holy; Put the Lights on the Tree (or watch the video below); We're Going to the Country.
2. Read Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, by Anne Rice. A story about Jesus (age 8) coming to terms with who he was and the power that was within him.
3. Read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Jesus' Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. If you're offended by this book, then I agree, it's horrible. If you laugh and then think, call me and we can talk about it.
4. Buy handmade stuff from this website. I've just started doing my shopping in this way. People like it (if they're a little weird).
5. Consider something like this. My kids are young, but they just packed up a bunch of toys they didn't use/like anymore and we took them here.

Any other recommendations? (Please don't say Jingle Cats)