Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Pick Number Six

My sister Jeana can make stuff. Amazing stuff. She can sew and crochet anything you ask her to - no need for a pattern. She also makes the best snickerdoodles on the planet, hands down, her homemade rolls are mouth watering, and she can make a peach pie like nobodies business. If this particular pie she made last summer were entered in the-best-pie-ever-made contest, she would win. It was so good, I took a picture of it. And it just happened to be number six.

(And speaking of making stuff, my other sister Micol happened
to make the amazing table cloth the pie is sitting on - love it!)
LoLo tagged me to choose the sixth photo from the sixth photo folder on my computer. So now I tag her back to go into itunes and post the twelfth song from the eighth playlist on the nineteenth day of the third month of two-thousand-and-nine and dedicate it to me.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Craptacular

So . . . does anyone else feel nervous about owing other super-power countries huge gobs of money? People keep saying that this is a recession just like we've experienced before (even though this is being called the worst financial melt-down since the 1930s) - but I don't think so. I think that the American financial situation will never be the same, and I wonder if we will ever know prosperity again like we've known it for the last 20 years. Now, I'm no expert, so don't take my word for it . . .
http://academicearth.org/lectures/origins-of-financial-mess

This Academic Earth website is phenomenal - Princeton/Stanford/Harvard lectures for free? Sign me up . . . oh wait, you don't have to sign up, just watch.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

ENOUGH already

If you want something said right, say it on your t-shirt!

i actually saw someone wearing this one and it made my day!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Many Faiths : One Family : One Love

Let's just forget for a minute about the economy going down the crapper. I’d like to write about something uplifting instead. Otherwise, I fear I will curl up in the fetal position in some dark corner as a result of our shortsighted national leaders and their phenomenally craptacular decision making skills. I’ve got a “change” for ya . . .

On Sunday, I had the privilege of attending the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable’s annual concert. I knew I was going to love it when it opened with a jewish chant featuring a shofar, a muslim call to prayer – which I have always found incredibly beautiful and have dreamed to hear from the top of a minaret somewhere in Turkey or Morocco – and a Vienna Boys Choir-esque song by a children's choir that was absolutely stunning. The interfaith coalition’s goal is to promote peace and understanding between people of different religions through the theme: Many Faiths : One Family. They had several presentations that brought local Jewish and Muslim children’s choirs to sing together about peace and understanding.I was blown away by how good this concert was. They had children’s choirs from all different religions and other performances from Hindi folk dancers, Native American dancers, and even a bagpipe band playing Amazing Grace. I was pretty much a mess from the beginning – but I lost it when the bagpipes started up. What is it with that song? It must be my Scottish great, great, great, great grandma, Mary Murray Murdoch, or “Wee Granny” as she is known to us. Years ago I went to a memorial service near Chimney Rock in Nebraska where nearly 450 Murdoch descendants were gathered to honor her. As the sun set, there were bagpipes playing Amazing Grace. I have to say, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. This personal association with that song ensures tears every time I hear it.

I had a thought as I was listening to this concert on love and acceptance of different faiths. I wrote about love in my last post, but I think I got it wrong. Now I realize that more than romantic love, I want to live and experience a more pure form of love. I think my ultimate goal, and the path to true enlightenment, is based on love in its purest, most selfless form. Something that was very evident during the interfaith concert is that most religions pretty much believe the exact same thing – we just use different words. The more I learn about different religions it’s clear to me that they are all slightly different forms of the original single source. I loved that they made a point to have the Jewish and Muslim children sing together in a combined choir. They sang about all being children of Abraham and that they are really brothers and sisters in the same family. It was really touching. They ended by saying that whether we believe in Allah, Vishnu, Amida or God, we are all one.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

New Year's Revolution

Ladies and gentlemen. . . la, ladies and gentlemen . . . ladies and . . . OI! OI!

So, for some reason I titled my banner Love Story instead of To Make A Short Story Long. I don't know why really, I have no love story. Unless you count my love of Sonic happy hour. I didn't really set any new year's resolutions, I didn't really feel the need. Except the one to fulfill my dream of going to the Mediterranean (finally!). Instead, I think I'll start a new year revolution, starting with my love life. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my life as it is - I have a great job, amazing friends, an education, a playstation; but I wouldn't mind a snog now and then. Just saying.

So I'm sending this out to the Universe Love Sherpa . . . I am ready for my training, sensei.