Smart People Movies

I've been scouring my Netflix options for good documentaries. The goal is to show mentally stimulating, insightful, entertaining documentaries. As a result I have the suspicion I will be watching quite a few documentaries in the coming month or so. I have come up with a cajillion that have very good potential. Who knew there were so many out there! On the top of my list:

1. After Innocence: A look at convicted prisoners released from jail after being cleared by DNA evidence. I am actually watching it right now. I feel like it could be better.

2. Exit Through the Gift Shop: All about underground street art and street artist Banksy, who does stencil art and is all kinds of famous or something.

3. Food, Inc.: Looking at effect of food industry on our health and environment. Because my sister reeeeeeally wants me to watch it. And I suppose I should educate myself on food and junk.

4. No Impact Man: A man and wife and baby try to make no impact on the environment for a year. That's some dedication.

5. Murderball: About Rugby-playing quadriplegics at the paralympics. Sounds hardcore.

6. Good Hair: Chris Rock looks at African-American hair and the views surrounding what is "good hair" and how women get it. I hear it's super good.

There are quite a few on my list. We watched Rize last week, which is about Krumping and Clowning (dance movements) in LA. Quite interesting. I've got quite a few historical ones on my list, because I like a good historical education. Those might be more for my interest than ones that will be contenders for our summer documentary series...

Do you have any favorites?

Happy Ballpoint Pen Day

It's important to have reasons in life to celebrate. Today (er, Sunday, which starts in five minutes), I'm celebrating ballpoint pens. I shall use one to take notes in church, to doodle when I am not listening in church, and to underline things in my lesson manual at church. It's going to be an exciting day!

Other days I am looking forward to celebrating this year:
1. Raggedy Ann and Andy Day on June 12th-13th (which doesn't really make sense because that is TWO days, people!)
2. Magna Carta Day on June 15th. I think we all celebrate this one, don't we?
3. National Flip-Flop Day on June 17th. An ode to footwear or wishy-washiness? Hmmm... I can't decide.
4. International Fairy Day on June 24th. Because fairies are pretty!
5. Great American Backyard Camp Out Day on June 25th. Should be interesting in the backyard of my apartment...
6. International Cherry Pit Spitting Day on July 2nd.
7. Compliment Your Mirror day on July 3rd. (Who's a pretty mirror? YOU are a pretty mirror.)
8. Indivisible Day on July 4th. Which would have been more fun the first way I read it, which was INVISIBLE Day.
9. Don't Step on a Bee Day on July 10th. My feet feel so safe on that day!
10. Cow Appreciation Day on July 10th. Mooooooo.
11. Barbie-in-a-blender Day on July 27th. Oh, the traditions! Just thinking about this day brings on the nostalgia!
12. Take Your Houseplant for a Walk day, also on July 27th. Truly a busy, busy day.
13. Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day on August 7th. Oh, the fun we have on this day!
14. Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night on August 8th.
15. Hug Your Boss Day on August 19th, which I first read to be BUG Your Boss Day. I'm instituting Bug Your Boss Day at my work. We're trailblazers.

Catsup or Ketchup? That Is the Question.

I have been pondering a deep question. Ketchup or Catsup? And what's more, why on earth do we have two choices? I googled it, and while the answer is not from wikipedia, which would make it the definitive answer, I found a little info here.

My conclusion? It is clearly meant to be ketchup. Because saying "cat-sup" is akin to saying schedule all british-like, "shhhhedule." Like nails on a chalkboard. Or, since that noise does not get to me as much, like styrofoam against styrofoam. Ugh. Hate that noise.

Thank You Very Much (queue Scrooge soundtrack here)

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” ~Johannes A. Gaertner


Deep thoughts.


I feel like this is a true statement. What is the difference between enacting gratitude and living gratitude? I've been thinking long and hard about this for the last five minutes, and I have concluded that the difference is that enacting gratitude could be a one-time act like sending a thank you card, which is a very nice thing, and not to be pooh-poohed (thank you thesaurus), while living gratitude is about an everyday attitude or approach to life. I have not learned how to live gratitude. Sometimes I have thoughtful moments and I enact it. Why, just the other day I made a list of people to thank. I consider this a great accomplishment.

How can we live gratitude? I have come up with the following so far:
1. Gratitude journal (thank you, Oprah)
2. Take friends out for cheesecake to thank them for bein' a friend. I'll let you go first.
3. ...

Yeah, that's all I got. Clearly I'm theees close to living gratitude. Anybody got any thoughts on things I could add to my exhaustive list above?

The Rapture and Other Things that Make us Giggle

I have been noticing a trending conversation topic on MyFace the last few days. Everywhere I look it's all about the Rapture. I noticed that it was even a topic on several major news websites. The media is enjoying poking a little fun just as much as the peeps on MyFace. And it does seem a little goofy to me that Random Dude is telling us all the appointed day that It Will All Be Over.

As much as I think that it's goofy that people believe this guy, I can't help cringe a little at all the mocking. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words, I'm a Mormon girl. :) And even my friends who love me and are respectful of my beliefs say that some of the things I believe seem a little wacky to them. I get it. It's understandable that without the element of faith, a belief in things like modern-day prophets, revelation, and *gasp* abstaining from alcohol and coffee would seem odd to say the least.

I did not believe this rapture talk, and really do find it kind of ridiculous and crazy. But my urge to point my finger and laugh is hampered a bit by a glimmer of a feeling of common ground. Their beliefs seem crazy to me, but my beliefs also seem crazy to many people. I can take some fun poked at my religion, but people can be pretty brutal sometimes. What is it that makes it so appealing to mock the beliefs of others. Why has this prediction been such a significant thing to people that they are posting and re posting on MyFace, talking about it in the grocery store, and writing news stories over and over? I'm not saying I haven't found these posts amusing, because some of them are downright hilarious. I'm just saying, if it's so ridiculous, why are we expending so much energy focusing on it?

But then, I don't get why we should care which celebrity is in rehab or whatever either. But I'm not gonna lie, I have had periods in my life where I've followed all that gossip.

Commercials that Make Me Giggle

I don't have cable, so I really have not been in the commercial world too much lately. I know some of you will be shocked to read that I don't have cable. Never fear, I have wifi and I watch all my shows there. Really it allows me to watch more in less time because there are less commercials. But every once in a while I see funny commercials that make me miss commercials. Mostly I just think, man, I'm glad this is the only commercial I have to hear. But these ones... they make me giggle.

Do. Da. Dippity. And some hamsters.

And the cute little cows!!!

And she loves him... ardently!



And of course...


Sadly... he isn't me...

I'm a Good Person and I Will Tell You All About It.

Reasons people are charitable:

1. Because they are nice.
2. Because they care about people.

3. So that they can tell people about how nice they are and how they care about people. They can also tell themselves this.
4. So they can be published on lists.
5. So they don't have to pay for a ticket/go to jail.
6. So they can achieve notable positions in their community.

7. To impress someone.

I'm all for charity, and for people volunteering and giving service and all that junk. But there are people in the world who are quite proud of themselves and the little ways they give. Or, in the absence of actual giving, they are quite proud of the way they talk about how they intend to give. Because all starts with talking, right? Lots and lots of talking. And if said intended future service involves The Children then that makes the speaker practically an angel. Because only the innocent truly deserve our help.

You know what makes me cranky? Besides the absence of chocolate in my house right now, that is. You'll never guess this. What makes me cranky is when people discuss potential subjects of service and essentially categorize groups of people as deserving or undeserving of help and love, based on no actual facts, but rather on personal biases and assumptions. Because heaven help us if we take the time to try to understand an issue adversely affecting people and have a little compassion for them.

I was recently delighted (and by delighted I mean severely aggravated) to hear a woman espouse her opinion that families who were homeless due to disaster, and therefore through no fault of their own, really need our help. It was her new mission to help support them in whatever way she could. She was quite proud of herself for this statement. She was feeling quite angelic. I was feeling like squishing her. On the surface, her comment was great. These people she was discussing ARE probably really deserving of a little love and support. Yeah for charity! But let's examine the qualifier in her statement. Through no fault of their own. Um, what exactly are you saying, there, Angel dear? Are you saying that Other Homeless People are NOT deserving of your charity, because they all CHOSE to be homeless? I'm sure, Angel, that you were not consciously trying to relay that message. However, it's clear from your statement (and a few other lovely follow-up statements about dirty scary people and addicts) what you think about homeless people.

Everyone is at a different place in life on their path to learning and understanding about the world around them. I totally get that. I get that while some people would be uncomfortable working with homeless people, other people would rather do that than work with a group of children. Everyone' s service of choice is different. There are lots of different ways we can make an impact in this world, and we all have different talents and preferences that lead us to give service in different ways. That's fabulous. Yeah for diversity! What I take issue with is people who insist on staying in their little bubbles and not educating themselves and broadening their minds when opportunity arise. I take issue with people passing judgement on other groups of people without taking the time to actually consider the cards life has dealt said group. Serving people does not make you better than them. If you're doing it right, you will most likely learn something in the act. If you're doing it wrong, you most likely brag about it later. I'm just saying.