Breakdancing in Phnom Penh

"U.S. Deportee Brings Street Dance to Street Boys of Cambodia" Great story and video from the New York Times.

A Story of Thanksgiving

"This is a column to give thanks to you, the reader. You don’t know it, but some of you are keeping women like Sajida Bibi alive here in this remote Pakistani village. And that is a far grander reason to celebrate Thanksgiving than even the plumpest turkey."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. As always, so thankful for my family and the ability to wake up everyday and go to work with the goal of making a difference through words. Warmest wishes to my friends and their families and loved ones. Peace.

Catching Up with Rex

Watch CBS Videos Online
An inspiring story that will put a smile -- and a few tears -- on your face. Enjoy.

It's Too Soon

Don't call me a grinch, but the holiday season is depressing me. I think it hit me the week after Halloween. The elections were a great distraction, but it came and it's been coming ever since. What I speak of is the onslaught of holiday...uh...everything. I can't even choose a word for this. I think I'm feeling this because I feel Christmas is being "forced" on me -- us -- by department stores, advertisers, radio stations, televisions, ad nauseam. Let me warm up to the holiday season. Let me digest Halloween, acknowledge Thanksgiving before facing perhaps the most commercialized holiday out there. I don't know...perhaps I am being a grump. But with the way our economy is, I don't feel much like celebrating all that much. There are other factors for why I'm feeling this way, ones I'm trying to wrap my head around, ones I'm trying to deal with as hard as they may be. (Sigh) ... For me, the holiday season has always been a sad for me. When I was little, I told my dad that it was because I after Christmas, we wouldn't have any real holidays anymore for a while. (I know, something a 6 year old would say, or think.)

Here, Here

Am dealing with a lot of rude people in my life right now. Everyone from mechanics, to store clerks, to friends I thought I had, to people who I thought cared about me. Perhaps this reverse etiquette will "save" me. And for the other people, I'll just let karma to its job.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/opinion/10alford.html?emc=eta1

Cheney's Hometown Paper Endorses Obama

As a Wyoming ex-pat, I am darn proud of the Star-Trib for stepping outside of the redbox to publish this editorial; I know they were going against a whole lotta of grain:

By the Star-Tribune Editorial Board:

"It is a foregone conclusion that Wyoming's three electoral votes will go to Sen. John McCain. It would be easy for the Star-Tribune to simply agree with the majority of voters in this red state and endorse the Republican candidate for president. But this isn't an ordinary election, and Sen. Barack Obama has the potential to be an extraordinary leader at a time we desperately need one..."
Continue reading editorial.

CNN article.

Vote.

What a Beautiful Song

I recently discovered Coldplay's acoustic version of "Lost." What a beautiful tune...

Gotta Love Falsies

No, not the kind that enhance your decolletage, the one that give you long, lush lashes. Was up very early for work today, so I decided to put my false eyelashes on, and wow...I think I've temporarily addicted. It adds just enough detail to your face that people notice. I love not having to apply too much eye makeup. Love it.

Go Away Thursday

Had a rough day at work today, and come to think of it, yesterday as well. Didn't sleep well last night, awoke frantic from a terrible nightmare at 3 this morning, couldn't get back to sleep. Perhaps that is what started my bad day. Went for my morning run, and just wasn't feeling it. Thought I was famished after work, came home and ate a sandwich, made my stomach feel worse. Oh Thursday, please let me fall asleep and forget the irritants of my day.

Hello Fall

I can definitely feel the season's changing. I've been freezing these past couple of days, and been having a hard time falling asleep. Guess I'll have to break out the cold-weather comforters. I'm wearing songs to bed now to bring down my shivers. Either a draft is coming in through my window or I'm coming down with the flu.

Homer Simpson Tries to Vote for Obama

This is too funny. Oh Homer, you're my hero.

Sarah Palin's Greatest Hits Infomercial

Found this on Gawker. Rush orders!

Zagat Guide to the Debate

A great tidbit from The New Yorker about Thursday night's debate between Biden and Palin.

Say it ain't so Joe

"Young at Heart"

I've been wanting to watch this documentary for some time now, and finally got the chance to this weekend. It is an amazingly inspirational movie. It tells the story of a chorus made up of senior citizens; however, don't expect to hear standards and show tunes, these ageless chanteurs and chanteuses belt out R&B, hip-hop, pop and rock tunes. There are moments when you'll laugh and moments when you'll cry. There is a great scene in the documentary where the chorus director plays Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia," and there's a montage of cutaways showing the reactions of the seniors. Perhaps one of the most touching scenes in the film for me, is when two ailing veterans of the group practice Coldplay's "Fix You." Beautiful. Please watch "Young at Heart" if you get a chance.

Ground Control to Major Zhai

China's young space program has reached a milestone...on Saturday morning, Chinese astronaut took the firs-ever spacewalk for the nation.

Mission commander Zhai Zhigang floated out of the orbiter module's hatch in the spacewalk, shown live on state broadcaster CCTV. Tethered to handles attached to the Shenzhou 7 ship's orbital module's exterior, Zhai remained outside for about 13 minutes before climbing back inside and closing the hatch behind him.

Fellow astronaut Liu Boming also emerged briefly from the capsule to hand Zhai a Chinese flag that he waved for an exterior camera filming the event.

China's next goal: to put a man on the moon in the next decade.

The New Yorker: Shouts & Murmurs

It's a great one this week. With the Feds promising a $700 billion bailout to rescue the nation's failing financial instituions, writer Andy Borowitz pleas his case for a personal government bailout in The New Yorker. If you're having a bad day, I promise this will put a big smile on your face and you'll laugh out loud.

(On a side: Caught the Emmys on Sunday, not overly impressed by the hosts or the show. But was glad several of the winners took time to push the election issue. And kudos to Laura Linney -- one of my favorites -- who gave a nod to "community organizers" who help run and shape our country. Take that Sarah Palin.)

The End.

I took this photo last month at my last game at Yankee Stadium. Tonight the Bronx Bombers played their last game, and I'm sure fans will walk away with more than just a baseball game tonight.

Final Weekend

Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

The final series at historic Yankee Stadium gets underway tonight, when the Bronx Bombers hold the first of three consecutive games against the Orioles. After 85 years, New York City's Yankee Stadium will host its last game Sunday. Wish I were there...

S.O.S.

I feel like I'm in college again. Sleepless nights for the past month -- not good. My body is in desperate need of a good night's (heck, even day's) sleep. I feel like I need to completely shut down my body, let it rest and reboot and turn it back on. Work has been busy, personal life has been busy...or perhaps stressful? Good news is, I'm beginning to run a lot better lately. My time and pace seem to be improving every week. Now if I can only work on sleeping better every week. I feel like I should be sleeping now, but I look at the clock at it's nearing 1a.m. and I can't fall asleep. What is holding me back? Oh right, the millions of neurons that are shooting off inside my head. I have too many thoughts circulating in my head.

Are You Ready for the Large Hadron Collider?

Could this spell doomsday? Don't know if you folks have been reading about the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, for short. Apparently this is all going down on Wednesday.

One Year

(Hell's Half Acre in Wyoming)

It's been a year since I left Wyoming after working/living there for 2-plus years. I remember driving back to California with my brother. The drive was long and, at times, stressful. (I was afraid my Honda was going to die on me along a barren stretch of I-80...but Honda's are trustworthy.)

I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Wow. It really does seem like it was just yesterday that I headed west and said good-bye to Wyoming. It was time I left and, though, I bid farewell to many friends and memories, I still hold Wyoming in a special place in my heart. Who would have thought that a big-city girl could acclimate into a beef-cooking, Chinese Cowgirl.

Hello Again

Hi, hi...apologies for dilatory post. The conventions and hurricanes have kept me on a short leash. I have much to write about. In the meantime, recently saw two movies that I hope you'll find time to see. "Waitress" and "The Counterfeiter." Both are fantastic movies with amazing writing and acting. "Waitress" is a quirky look at how one small-town diner waitress escapes reality through pie baking; "The Counterfeiters" is based on the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. The counterfeiting takes place in a concentration camp and made of Jewish men. It won this year's Oscar for best foreign film. An amazingly poignant movie. Please watch.