HOLDING BALLOONS IN LALALAND

2009-12-18T12:26:00.001-08:00

"fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
G.K.Chesterton

NOT ENOUGH TIME TO READ... (click on title)

2009-12-18T12:13:00.001-08:00

2009-12-18T12:11:00.001-08:00

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

4:41 pm Thursday Dec 17, 2009 by Caroline Stanley

Today at Flavorpill, we loved Slate’s interactive guide to all of the “best movies of the decade” lists. We learned about the differences between a douchebag and an asshole from a brilliant Gawker commenter with way too much time on his hands. We found out what happened to Hermione Granger once she left Hogwarts. Hint: It’s inspired by the plot of Dangerous Minds. We gawked at some crazy menorahs (27 to be exact). We were creeped out by Stalker Santa, especially the part where he took his shirt off. We couldn’t believe that James Franco has a pretty little brother who’s also an actor and will be on the upcoming season of Scrubs. Genetics! We visited the Midwest and then launched ourselves into Hyper Space. And finally, we wanted to order a baby simulator. Wouldn’t it be funny to just keep one lying around the house? It looks like a Glo Worm doll.

CHEESIEST XTMAS VIDEOS (click on title)

2009-12-18T12:10:00.003-08:00

2009-12-18T12:10:00.001-08:00

In Defense of The Office’s Jim Halpert

5:05 pm Thursday Dec 3, 2009 by Caroline Stanley

Over at the Awl Meghan Keane has filed a story on why The Office is the most depressing show in prime time television. We’d first like to argue that a show like Intervention or Toddlers and Tiaras is infinitely more depressing (albeit in a more darkly enjoyable way). We’d also like to make it perfectly clear that we agree that The Office isn’t all that funny anymore. What we take issue with is that Keane places the blame on the straight man who we’ve always identified with.

She starts off by explaining that while Jim Halpert once had a promising future, he is now stuck living in the interminable present. Where we grew up, this was called reality. Yes, we’re all told as children that we have special talents and that if we study hard there’s some amazing career for us at the end of the journey. Remember when you wanted to be an astronaut? How many people did you go to high school with who are currently living out their childhood dreams? What if the “interminable present” is just the present?

It was always implied that Jim was overqualified for his job, and he only stuck it out at Dundler Mifflin because of his feelings for Pam. He’s not inspired by what he does, nor does he pretend to be. In fact, in the pilot episode he says, “If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I’d have to throw myself in front of a train.” And yet, we never really learn what he’d rather be doing. He’s not Pam sitting on some dream of becoming an artist. What if for Jim personal success isn’t measured by career? What if for him it’s having a life and family with Pam, and putting up with his “middling situation” is just a financial means to that end?

Keane is also bothered by Jim and Pam’s lack of social circle outside of the coworkers who they so regularly deride. “Jim and Pam getting married did more than give Michael and excuse to hook up with Pam’s mom. It expanded the lens of The Office wide enough to reveal a disturbing fact: Jim and Pam don’t have any real friends. Suddenly, a romance that seemed like the natural progression for two quietly charming people revealed itself to be much more depressing.”

This is The Office, not Friends. One of Pam’s bridesmaids was her dental hygienist best friend from Carbondale. The other was her sister. Jim had his practical joke-loving brothers, Tom and Pete by his side. (Random bit of trivia: Jim’s sister Larissa was once listed as his emergency contact at work.) We’ve known ever since Pam’s poorly-attended art show that her fellow employees are really the only people she has daily contact with. (There was also the fact that when Jim first declared his love to her she called her mom.) But why is that so weird? Can you really imagine either of them sitting in a coffee shop with a perfectly gender-balanced group making witty conversation? We’d find that depressing. These two quietly charming people are loners. That’s part of their quiet charm.

So is Jim really “a mediocre man who has already realized his full potential”? Pardon the Hallmark moment we’re about to have, but we’d argue that as an expectant father and a new husband, Jim has barely scraped the surface of who is or will be in his fictional life. Since we first met him, Jim’s one big dream was to be with Pam. He was able to achieve that goal. Do we think he looks happy in his partitioned office? No. But if his work days are some sort of professional purgatory, they’re no worse than what many of the people we know are going through in this recession. And they’re certainly no indication of all the things he might be.

Regardless, if this show had stopped being funny (and we agree that in most cases, it has), don’t look at the straight man. All he ever really did that was “funny” was make the Jim face.

"SOME THINGS AREN'T MEANT TO BE KNOWN. THEY'RE JUST MEANT TO BE ACCEPTED"

2009-12-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

sometimes i wish i could tell you exactly how things are...

"STRANGE HOW THESE SQUIGGLES AND DOTS TURNS INTO LETTERS AND WORDS THA CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE"

2009-12-15T02:01:00.000-08:00

when 2 am rolls around and i need to talk to someone, who is out there to listen to me? nessas horas que eu queria estar perto do ed... que ta la longe... longe longe longe...

alias, longe ja eh tao comum no meu vocabulario...

2009-12-14T22:03:00.003-08:00

i'm back into my cozy and nice cave. i'm not strong enough or brave enough to deal with certain things.

2009-12-14T13:39:00.001-08:00

"There's the people who you've known forever who, like, know you in this way that other people can't, because they've seen you change...they've let you change."

2009-12-14T00:15:00.000-08:00

"cities, it occurred to me, are physical manifestations of our deepest beliefs and our often unconscious thoughts, not so much as individuals, but as the social animals we are. a cognitive scientist need only look at what we have made - the hives we have created - to know what we think and what we believe to be important as well as how we structure those thoughts and beliefs. (...) our values and hopes are sometimes awfully embarrassingly easy to read. (...) one can sense the collective brain - happy, cruel, deceitful, and generous - at work and at play, endless variations on familiar themes repeat and recur: triumphant or melancholic, hopeful or resigned, the permutations keep unfolding and multiplying."
david byrne, bicycle diaries

FROM LA TIMES

2009-12-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

Opinion

Obama doctrine emerges in Oslo speech

Accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, the president outlines his philosophy of engagement with hostile regimes, then sanctions as needed. But will his approach translate into practical action?

By Doyle McManus

December 13, 2009

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The headlines on President Obama accepting the Nobel Peace Prize last week focused on the apparent irony: A man who had just ordered 30,000 more troops into war was snagging a trophy as the world's leading champion of peace. Obama tackled the paradox head-on in his Oslo speech. "Evil does exist in the world," he said. "War is sometimes necessary."

But the president's speech was about much more than the regrettable necessity of war. It also contained the fullest exposition so far of Obama's evolving approach to global diplomacy, including his attempts at "engagement" with hostile regimes in places such as Iran, North Korea and Sudan -- in other words, the emerging Obama doctrine.

"I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation," he said. "But I also know that . . . no repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door."

And when diplomacy fails, Obama said, the United States and other big powers must apply serious sanctions against rogue regimes -- "alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior."

There are two propositions there -- engagement and sanctions -- and neither one has been proved to work yet. Turning them into practical action will be the test of whether the Obama doctrine works.

First, engagement. One of Obama's main foreign policy promises in last year's presidential campaign was that unlike George W. Bush, he wouldn't threaten hostile countries with regime change; he'd talk to them instead. In his first months, Obama opened more-direct talks with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear arsenals and with Sudan and Myanmar over human rights.

At the same time, Obama downplayed public criticism of repressive governments whose help he needed on diplomatic issues. He ducked a meeting with the Dalai Lama to avoid offending China. He called Egypt's president for life, Hosni Mubarak, "a force for stability and good." He sent a special envoy to Sudan who tried to deal gently with a regime that has waged genocide in Darfur.

All that courtesy toward dictators alarmed human rights activists, who worried that Obama was taking U.S. diplomacy back toward what they consider the amoral "realism" of Henry Kissinger and the Cold War.

"Engagement without pressure is read by authoritarian governments as capitulation," Human Rights Watch's executive director, Kenneth Roth, said in an interview. Jamie Rubin, a former State Department spokesman in the Clinton administration, wrote in a Newsweek column: "There was a time when presidents gained political strength from upholding democratic values."

The Obama administration's response boils down to one word: patience. "This isn't a disagreement over values; it's a disagreement over means," an Obama aide told me. "Chest-thumping hasn't made people's lives better at the end of the day. . . . Give us some time."

But so far, engagement hasn't yielded much in the way of tangible results. And that's where sanctions come in under the Obama doctrine.

In Oslo, Obama said it was time "to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted.

"When there is genocide in Darfur, systematic rape in Congo, repression in Burma, there must be consequences. Yes, there will be engagement; yes, there will be diplomacy; but there must be consequences when these things fail."

But this approach can't guarantee results either. The history of international sanctions lists more failures than successes. It's hard to design sanctions that can change a regime's behavior, hard to enlist other countries to participate, and hard to enforce the measures once they're in place.

To take three important cases Obama mentioned:

The United Nations has imposed tough sanctions on North Korea, but the Pyongyang regime is already so isolated that it seems almost indifferent to the pressure.

The U.N. has imposed sanctions on Sudan too, but China -- which has nurtured a lucrative oil business relationship with the Khartoum regime -- has blocked attempts to make them tougher. As a result, the Obama administration has explored a form of "reverse sanctions," offering undisclosed incentives if Sudan improves the human rights situation in Darfur and implements a peace agreement in its southern region. So far, though, the approach has achieved little.

And on Iran, Obama is about to mount a drive for what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton once called "crippling sanctions" to punish the Tehran regime for producing enriched uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. But

diplomats warn that the road to imposing sanctions will be long and hard, and there's no guarantee that the measures will ever get close to crippling.

In two major foreign policy speeches in the last two weeks, Obama has added more details to his evolving foreign policy blueprint.

At West Point, he explained why he was escalating the war in Afghanistan, but he called it a unique case and said the United States didn't have the resources to use military force everywhere in the world.

At Oslo, he offered the rest of the world a bargain: The United States will engage diplomatically and act multilaterally, but it needs the help of others to make it work.

But the test of the Obama doctrine -- as its author says himself -- will be whether it gets results.

OH WELL... LATE AT NIGHT THINGS HAPPEN AND THOUGHTS FLOW...

2009-12-13T00:09:00.001-08:00

2009-12-13T00:05:00.001-08:00

2009-12-13T00:00:00.001-08:00

SUPERSONIC CHOCOLATE MIND TRAVEL

2009-11-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

just these guys to make me laugh at this point.
dear universe, i can't wait to see what's waiting for me in my near future. i'm very peaceful and very content waiting for you to show me what's out there. thank you and good night!

2009-12-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

"people can lose their bearings when they travel, unmoored from their familiar physical surroundings, and that somehow loosens some physical connections as well. sometimes that's a good thing - it can open the mind, offer new insights- but frequently it's also traumatic in a not-so-good way.
(...) it sounds like some form of meditation, and in a way, it is. performing a familiar task, like driving a car or riding a bike, puts one into a zone that is not too deep or involving. the activity is repetitive, mechanical, and it distracts and occupies the conscious mind, or at least part of it, in a way that is just engaging enough but not too much - it doesn't cause you to be caught off guard. it facilitates a state of mind that allows some but not too much of the unconscious to bubble up. as someone who believes that much of the source of his work and creativity is to be gleaned from those bubbles, it's a reliable place to find that connection. in the same way that perplexing problems sometimes get resolved in one's sleep, when the conscious mind is distracted the unconscious works things out."
david byrne, bicycle diaries.

i'm so into the bicycle diaries book because byrne keeps feeding my mind with some amazing observations and thoughts.
yes, as a traveler we often find ourselves in different physical places and the beauty of it, being a traveler, is to enjoy that, is to take this different places in, to find our own place in a different surrounding. it's an observation and self-exercise walking meditation (does this make sense at all??). i really dislike people who call themselves travelers, but they never venture out of their own resort room. why travel when you're not going to explore the culture out there?? we have tvs at home too!! why go to a different place to watch tv in an expensive hotel room?? all-included? please. OPEN YOUR MINDS PEOPLE!!! embrace the different surroundings!!!

2009-12-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

"i felt more connected to the life on the streets than i would have inside a car or in some form of public transportation: i could stop whenever i wanted to; it was often (very often) faster than a car or taxi (...). the same exhilaration, as the air and street life whizzed by, happened again in each town. it was, for me, addictive."
david byrne

i'm really into him right now. just read 'bicycle diaries' and feel in love with byrne, the writer. the most interesting book this year (even though i didn't read that much this year, shame on me, shame on me...).
nnnooo!!! that's NOT true! i haven't read half of what i wanted, but i've been exposed to some awesome books this year and i've read TONS of young adults books (most of them absolutely awesome!!!). i have 10 days of break ahead of me, and i have all the best intentions of reading at least 4 books. it'll be so hard to pick just 4...

OBAMA'S NOBEL PRIZE TEXT (click on title)

2009-12-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

2009-12-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

Abraham Lincoln

thank goodness i have tons of vices!!!

2009-12-05T19:24:00.001-08:00

whatever you wish for me, you will get in double. so, be wise and careful on what you wish for....

NEW OBSESSION (click on title)

2009-12-04T22:04:00.001-08:00

SUCH A KIND FIRST LADY! (click on title)

2009-12-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

"A PLOY TO AROUSE MY SYMPATHIES"

2009-12-04T01:53:00.000-08:00

i have a gazillion things to do, but never mind. i need to get this out of my chest, put that out in the universe and really, wait for karma to work its magic.

really, why oh why this is happening to me?!??! one thing on top of another?!?!? one of those times!!!

here are my words tonight:

- let me go

- not ready to run, but will do just for the heck of it

- need a new body, urgently!

- can't wait to spend time with people who really get me and really love me

- move on

- i feel so stupid sometimes!

- i still get the best hugs throughout the day

- i still am addicted to information

- therapist (i did it, no shame on that)

- go and keep going

- certain people should stay and i wish i had the power to make you stay

- forever and a day

- who knew?

- you definitely should go

- i have THE best adopted sister ever!!!

- i also have THE best friends ever, ALL over the world!!!

- i do love true love!!

- and to think that one day i loved with all my heart...!!!

- you made me sad and angry

- love to discuss books with my kids

- harry got to be the most amazing kid out there!

- theo got to be the most helpful and kind kid out there!

- i'm angry at myself for letting you make me angry

- i just love when she comes to me and share her life... just like that

- thank goodness for all the best listening ears out there

- YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

- lance and stewart make me laugh and make me feel better

- i'll survive

- certain years and i'm a very different and peaceful person

- i feel sorry for certain people, i really do

- the italian alps always surprise me!

- my list is getting longer

- the best hug ever!!!!

- not so happy with the countdown

- there's nothing else i can do, so let me go

- should she go or should she stay???

- i love the cold weather when i don't need to leave my bed

- if you wanted to be that closer, you should had done it better when you had a chance to

- i need more time

- all i want is a couch, beers, the silence and ....

- it's been the most intense 3 days ever!

- i have a pile and i need to conquer this pile

- i'm breathing in and out and i'm trying

- just for the record, I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! AND I'M SO GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL FOR THEM ALL!!! want to know about true love? you gotta meet my friends. ALL of them.

WORLD LEADERS (click on title)

2009-12-02T12:17:00.001-08:00

I'M SO BLESSED AND THANKFUL!

2009-12-02T11:55:00.001-08:00

"Aos queridos amigos e familiares e a todos que torceram pra dar tudo certo

Gostariamos muito de agradecer a todos, mas mesmo que escrevêssemos 1.000.000 de palavras não conseguiríamos expressar metade da alegria que sentimos com tudo o que aconteceu e principalmente as homenagens

Pra iniciar usaremos uma frase de dois filósofos amigos nossos (Anderson e Fabião)

“PUTA QUE O PARIU, VOCÊS SÃO FODA, O QUE VOCÊS FIZERAM FOI DO C______”

Pois somente estas sábias palavras conseguem descrever o indiscritivel.

Começando pela homenagem do Chá Bar, aquela história que nos emocionou tanto, quanta criatividade e capacidade para narrar os fatos mais gostosos de nosso relacionamento. Isso já bastaria para sermos gratos a vocês por toda a vida, mas vcs não se contentaram apenas com isso. Vem o casamento no Civil e o Coral mais bem ensaiado do universo, que deixaria qualquer regente de boca aberta, não só pela letra e afinação, mas pela criatividade e alegria que irradiava deixando rolar a emoção e a criança dentro de cada um de nós (sem contar o sapato e o avental que nunca vimos nada igual..)

Uma semana depois vem o Casamento no Religioso e com ele a expectativa, “Será que eles vão fazer mais alguma surpresa...”, nem com toda imaginação do mundo esperaríamos que vcs iam trazem um representante da Disney (Pateta meu ídolo) e do carteado (Dama de Copas, quem a Mari conhece muito bem). Encontrar com eles na saída da Igreja já tinha nos deixada nas alturas, agora fazer uma prévia da nossa Lua de Mel e trazer um Buggy diretamente de Natal e pedir para o C.E.T.( com todas suas exigências, rs...) fechar a rua para queima de fogos, incendiou nossos corações. Até a chuva que São Pedro (para tb marcar sua presença) mandou deu uma tréguapara a chuva de arroz que a Mari sonhava tanto (inclusive estamos sonhando até hoje, cada hora sai um do ouvido...)

E a festa então... foi só alegria do começo ao fim, mais uma vez o Coral deu um Show desta vez com pandeiro e tudo.

Algumas pessoas lá de casa até apostaram pra saber se eu ia chorar ou não durante a cerimônia (confesso que algumas lágrimas escorreram), agora qdo chegamos no quarto do Hotel de Natal e fomos surpreendidos com mensagens enviadas por vcs, foi ummmar de lágrimas, como foi maravilhoso receber essas mensagens.

Pra finalizar, após 4 dias em Fernando de Noronha, podemos fazer a seguinte analogia

Nossa amizade é com Fernando de Noronha, todo mundo precisa conhecer...

A alegria de nos encontrar é como os saltos dos Golfinhos Rotadores ao entrar na Baia dos Golfinhos...

A pureza e transparência é igual as águas de suas praias...

Cada praia tem sua particularidade, mas todas são encantadoras como vocês...

Somos de diferentes cores, formas e religiões, assim como os peixes, tartarugas e arraias que vivem em perfeita harmonia...

Somos como o Arquipelago, que por mais ilhas que possua, todas juntas formam apenas um...

A maior diferença entre nós e este local, é que se Fernando de Noronha precisar de ajuda é capaz de não receber, ao contrário de nós que sempre estamos a disposição para ajudar uns aos outros

SUPER HIPER ULTRA MEGA FANTASTICO AMIGOS E FAMILIARES, vocês são demais, pedimos ao PAPAI DO CÉU que nos uma cada vez mais

AMAMOS MUITO MUITO (MAS MUITO MESMO) VOCÊS

BEIJOS MARI E VITOR"