Returning to normal

The pictures of the clean-up process after 18 grueling days of protest in Tahrir Square are remarkable and a testament to the Egyptian's love for their country.

This speech is KING

Zach Wahls, 19, speaking to the Iowa state legislature about growing up with two moms:(Warning: Watch this with tissues nearby.)

“After all, your family doesn’t derive its sense of worth from being told by the state, ‘You’re married. Congratulations.’ No. The sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other…It comes from the love that binds us. That’s what makes the family.” Well said, Zach.



The Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2009. Only five states and our nation's capital legally allow same-sex marriage, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

GRATUITOUS UPDATE:

11:17 P.M.: My comment on this video has received 16 "Likes" from the viewing public in the last 4 hours. I wrote:

"(Full disclaimer: I'm agnostic.) In reading the New Testament, Jesus invited EVERYBODY (prostitutes, tax collectors, e.g. people considered immoral and unjust) to the "table." Meaning, Jesus wanted to accept EVERYBODY, despite their background, occupations, etc. To all the so-called Christians who are denouncing Zach, you're being a Pharisee. "

a tropical rendering of "Bohemian Rhapsody"

This is cute.

A YouTube search of "bohemian rhapsody cover" returned a modest 4,910 results. To put that in perspective, "bieber baby cover" returned a whopping 854,000. If YouTube was alive in the '70's, Queen covers would be sprouting faster than Justin Bieber's pubescent hair.

smile, what's the use of crying?

For the first time, in quite some time, I can legitimately say that life sucks. Whenever that happens, I can feel my insides sloshing around because I’ve lost autonomy over my own body. A smile, a chuckle, or a laugh wanes as quickly as it comes.

When your life wave reaches a low point, as it inevitably and innately does, it is easy and natural to succumb to the sorrow.

Today, I got lucky. In my attempt to implement my regular “Sunday Internet Unplug,” I tuned into the TEDTalks podcasts on iTunes for light entertainment. I quickly scanned through the dozens of podcasts for the most intriguing titles and found Neil Pasricha’s talk, “The 3 A’s of awesome.”

Neil began writing the now super-famous blog, “1000 Awesome Things," when he was going through difficult times. Reading his blog will make you smile.

Each post is a straightforward and brief reminder the world’s infinite awesomeness like “#329 Twisting the lid off the jar after nobody else could,” “#363 Correctly guessing the secret ingredient,” “#365 Getting dressed out of the dryer or laundry basket,” or “#366 Little kids showing you their muscles.”

Life is awesome and un-awesome sometimes. Mostly awesome, we just don’t notice or give life credit.

I’ll exit tonight with a quote from Swami Sivananda, which I had on my person through most of college: “Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle!”

P.S. How's this for awesome: an actual gingerbread house. The real deal. (Actually, just the front of gingerbread house affixed to a wall, but still, awesome!

Dragon Ball Z is on Hulu!

How cool is this?

IMPORTANT: Episodes come subtitled or dubbed!

Best and most convincing appeal I've seen in years

In the non-profit biz, we try our best to show you the needs of our communities and of humanity and inspire you to help with a monetary contribution. We often do this through snail mail, e-mails, Facebook, and tweets.

Frankly, even for someone in the industry, these appeals can get overwhelming and monotonous. But a good number of orgs get it right, like the Red Cross: Best.Appeal.Ever. They simply ask, "Why the heck should you donate?"

Check it out!

Clever, incisive, and so achingly heartwarming.

confession:

I didn’t start going to movie theaters until I was a sophomore in high school. I’m still catching up on all the great movies from the 90’s to early ‘00s (thank heaven for Netflix.)

I can bet you that I’ve seen less movies than incarcerates spending their lives in jails and high-falutin, more righteous-than-thou head nuns—combined. On the bright side, it’s easy to recount my favorite movies.

Favorite movies from the 2000’s--a list in progress:

Juno

Little Miss Sunshine

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The Departed

Brokeback Mountain

Favorite movie adaptations from the 2000’s:

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Favorite Romantic Comedies:

Love Actually

You’ve Got Mail

When Harry Met Sally

Favorite movies that start with the letter “A”:

Almost Famous

American Beauty

Favorite Movies with Likable Stalkers:

Sleepless in Seattle

Favorite movies where the main characters don’t speak English:

Wall-E

Favorite one shouldn’t enjoy watching multiple times, yet I have:

Syriana

Mystic River

There Will Be Blood

Favorite Audrey Hepburn movies:

Funny Face

Roman Holiday

Favorite movies I refuse to watch American adaptations of:

Paris Je T’Aime

My Sassy Girl

Knee-slapping, laughing-so-hard-that-no-sounds-are-emitting-from-my-mouth:

Fargo

Movies I didn't think I'd like:

Blades of Glory

Talladega Nights