a list of random stuff

Generally I, and most of those I know, blog when they have something to say or share. I'm pretty sure this is why my blog has been lonely recently. It's been a combination of not really wanting to share and not really know what to share. For today, however, I am just going to write. Nothing special, nothing planned, let's just see what's going on up there on this Friday.

1) I think I could be Amish...almost. I admit that I know very, very little about them. Just watched a documentary, so maybe I am 1% more knowledgeable today than I was yesterday. That being said, I dig the simplicity, the faith, the devotion, the ignorance-is-bliss and be-content attitudes, though truly I could never make those commitments. My problem with the Amish is that their community and lifestyle is primarily focused on the afterlife. They live as they do in hopes that they will get to heaven. Once again, people focused more on the next life than on this one. I don't think I will ever understand that frame of mind or the appeal of it (but I secretly wish that I could).

2) Not that I had any doubts about this, but I have learned this week that life is definitely not better without my little daughter here. What have I done during her vacation? I saw two terrible movies (The Happening, Sex in the City), went to two pretty good live concerts, and worked more than usual. All of that without the smiles, the laughter, and the non-stop talk about "bubbles". We go pick her up on Sunday; that day, my life gets better again.

3) I spoke with one of my good, long-distance friends (which is all I really have these days) last night. There's nothing like a good catch-up phone call to help you realize the world beyond you. Sure, the 24-news channels alert me to life outside of my circle, but the distance I often feel from those events forces my empathy to retreat. A good phone call, however, decentralizes thought, and that's a good thing. And by the way, if you are reading this post, there is a good chance you appeared in the conversation at least once.

4) I have recently become famished-fascinated by the idea of leaps vs. steps. We all participate in steps; in my current professional life, I am participating in several of them. The conversation goes like this:

Currently, we do A;
The technology/market exists to do B;
Well, that's a no-brainer, let's try it.

My understanding of think-tanks, however, is that they focus on the L and the P, and maybe even the X. Those letters, my friends, are leaps. Things that will not occur unless someone accelerates/circumvents the logical-step process and tackles the "other side" of the future. Yah, that's uber-cool.

5) Hell's Kitchen and Shear Genius reveal the brilliance of Project Runway.

6) I think that God might be a lot like Ron Bennington (those who listen to Ron and Fez on XM understand what I mean). Ron's all about personal responsibility, and if you make a crazy deal (like branding yourself after losing a bet), he's like "you said it, you have to do it; it was your idea." The reason I bring this up...I watched a NatGeo program yesterday called "Taboo", which was all about religion and those that exist more on the edge of convention. One of their stories was about a man who told God if s/he would spare his wife and daughter (during birthing complications) he would crucify himself 15 times. He pays this debt to God once a year on Good Friday. Yup, they nail his hands to a cross and he hangs up there with a crown of thorns on. I can only imagine God sitting in Heaven saying, "ok, if those are your terms, then go for it." Whether God had any hand in the situation or not is up for eternal debate, but it does seem imperative that the man lives up to his word, correct? Sad thing is that he pays his personal debt to God (crucifixion, can you imagine that!?!), while so many of us forget our own. Grace is an unfathomable thing.

7) Gotta go; sorry for the rambling. A cartoon for your entertainment.



shanti,
mjh