"We have previously mentioned how the whole self-esteem movement turned a whole lot of people into dicks, because they emotionally can't handle anyone who doesn't boost their ego. We further theorized that this gave birth to the modern douchebag movement."
I grew up eating grits. My favorite preparation is with loads of butter and fresh ground black pepper. I didn't know it was southern comfort food until I moved to California, and rarely saw them on a menu. And now, they're all the rage:
I won the final game, the grand prize, the BLACKOUT! (Thanks, Val, for treating me to a wonderful sendoff before my two month travels with MONEY in my pocket!)
The male Markhor hangs his tongue out when he's in pursuit of a female for mating. I just learned about it on Nature on PBS. It looks so lewd, and desperate.
They are quite majestic looking animals, though. Especially for a goat.
And the Himalayan jumping spider, whose Latin name (Euophrys omnisuperstes) means "standing above everything" is the highest known living animal on earth. It can live at elevations as high as 21,000 feet! Isn't it cute? I mean, for a spider.
I'm a travel-lust. I always want to go out and see the world. I have a long list of places I want to visit. This one I just learned about today. And I...want...to...go!
I love the way fresh-squeezed blood orange juice floats lightly atop my o.j.
And today it's in one of the glasses from the set my grandfather gave my grandmother in the late 40s... and she hated them. According to my mom, she pitched such a fit as to how ugly the engraved glasses were, that my grandfather swore he'd never give her another gift. And apparently his promise held until the day he died.
I love these heavy-based glasses with his initials etched into them: F.C.G.
The word “tahrir” means “liberation.” It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore, it will remind us of the Egyptian people: of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world. -- Barack Obama
Look closely. This is what I found after putting the dishes away. Why is it that the spoons have multiplied, as the forks diminished in number? Where have the forks gone? And where did the spoons come from? It's like the sock disappearing from the dryer conundrum....
Until blood orange season rolled around, I never would have put citrus in my morning bowl of fruit, yogurt & granola. Ew!
But I love, passionately, blood orange, so the other day I peeled one, and put the slices in with Brown Cow Cream-Top maple yogurt, and drizzled it with Bay Area Bee Keepers Valllejo honey that I bought at the Forage SF Underground market that day.
Wow. Sublime. A whole new me: yogurt and citrus.
So I tried it again today: blood orange and banana and pecans with granola and Brown Cow Cream-Top vanilla yogurt, then honey drizzled on top.
I can't decide if 1,147 bicycle-related accidents is a lot or a little in two years. I guess even one bike accident is too many, but considering how hard it is for people to see bicyclists, it's unrealistic for no accidents to occur.
The Bay Citizen published this comprehensive map of all the bike accidents reported to the SFPD between Jan '09 and Nov '10, with neat little pop-up boxes that details every incident, including who is at fault.
I really love interactive maps: where geography and information come together to satiate the curiosity!
Click here to be directed to Bay Citizen's new Bike Accident Tracker.
And this is amazing: CrimeMapper for all crimes in the US in a given period, wow!
Yesterday I walked over six miles with V & S: from the Marina Green, up Fillmore, down Broadway to the Lyon Steps, down and up, then back down to Crissy Field, along the bay to the Warming Hut, then back to the Green.
It was a bright sunny day, and a warm wind blew ever-so-slightly. I had on short sleeves!
We walked passed the newly-renovated Palace of Fine Arts, and were stunned by how lovely it is. There are some mallards and other ducks paddling around the pond. We joined a few other people - a family with small children and a dog kept well away - in marveling at the beauty and grace of the swan that sat nearby, preening it's feathers.
Then almost simultaneously, us three ladies said, "And they are so MEAN!"
...and I noticed we were all keeping our distance.
I looked out the window yesterday and saw the golden light of the setting sun. I grabbed my camera and ran out to capture this shot.
I spent all afternoon and evening, just hanging out in my room, and listening to tunes.
The Steelers lost today, 31-25, giving the Packers the super bowl title.
It makes me sad to think of all the Egyptians still clinging to Tahrir Square. I hope the long view shows how pivotal their roll was in changing the political landscape.
"The lion-hearted Egyptians I met on Tahrir Square are risking their lives to stand up for democracy and liberty, and they deserve our strongest support — and, frankly, they should inspire us as well. A quick lesson in colloquial Egyptian Arabic: Innaharda, ehna kullina Misryeen! Today, we are all Egyptians!"
I have been following the daily trials and tribulations of Egypt, jockeying between CNN, the NYTimes, and streaming Al Jazeera, stunned to see the streets that I was just walking along a few weeks ago, now filled with the hope and passion of the people.
Tribulation is defined as: distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution, and derives from the Latin tribulare to press, oppress.
Very intentionally I titled this post "... OF Egypt" instead of "IN Egypt" because it is the people that make a country, not the government, not the constitution, nor the recognition or description of other "states" that make it so.
Egypt herself, each of the 85 million people that make up her whole, are being repressed, oppressed by the hands of a few.
My heart beats more rapidly for the people of Egypt, and my eyes weep at the images of so many gathered in solidarity, taking to the streets, to reclaim their identity and to stand together to say, "WE ARE EGYPT!"
Considering almost a quarter of the population lives in the incredibly bustling city of Cairo, the Egyptians can handle chaos. It's the repression of the elitist regime that is doing them in.
Here is a video shot by my friend Chris on January 1 of this year, when we were in Egypt to celebrate my birthday. It shows how easily people jostle and flow around the insanity of the construction happening in the main transportation terminal, Ramses Train Station.
I do not mean to belittle the painful and difficult events taking place on the streets of Cairo by comparing it to a peaceful day at the train station. I show it as encouragement that the people of Egypt are strong and resilient, and once the violent oppression is lifted, they will surely flourish.
Note the dizzying array of construction going on, while the people very easily and casually navigate the chaos.
