Actually, I’m posting this way outdated clip of my in-laws singing along to some mad kareoke at Christmas to check out the complete awesomeness of my new Vimeo Plus membership. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the cost, since my smelly ole’ Mac doesn’t really export videos to a very high quality and aren’t easily viewed online. What do you guys think? Liking the clarity? Does this video suck? How much do you want to marry in to this family after seeing my siblings-in-law sing along to “Material Girl” and my lovely father-in-law rap to “Living in America?”
P.S. I apologize for the obnoxious laughing, but I was way too intoxicated to hold it in….ahhh, the holidays.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2009-02-24 16:44:192009-02-24 16:53:46This is What You Get When You Force Me to Play Board Games
I know this is extremely old, but a friend posted it on Facebook and it had me laughing so hard I may have peed a little. For some reason, this video makes me think of my friend Mikayla. Not that she’s from Texas or 80-years-old or named Gladys, but I could see her leaving a message like this in 60 years…not sure why.
About a year ago, in my hours of mindless internet parusing, I came upon a site called 3191: A Year of Mornings. The site was created by two creative ladies, online friends who lived 3191 miles apart. One lived in Portland, Maine, while the other resided in Portland, Oregon, and both of them being creative souls, came up with a wonderful idea. Each woman would take a photo every morning, and then upload it to their blog. The photo project that ensued was a beautiful statement on simple living, the connection of friends and total joy. They would not tell each other what they planned to take photos of, and yet, the photos seemed to belong together (check out this to see what I’m talking about). The project was eventually turned in to a book, and then two more websites, A Year of Evenings and 3191 Miles Apart (their current project).
I came upon the idea again a few weeks ago (when Dooce posted about their book) and talked with a few friends about it. We all thought it was such a fun idea, and wondered if we’d have the discipline to keep up with a daily photo. It sounds easy, but lives can be so frantic and unpredictable, would we be able to manage the committment?
One friend and I have decided to take on the challenge, and so far, the results have been delightful. We’re calling the project NYC + KC and have been posting now for almost two weeks. This project is truly a selfish one for me. To be able to see something that happened this very morning in my friend, Theresa’s, life, especially when we live light years away, has been a gift. We post pictures of whatever we happen to come upon each day, from street vendors to murals, from school papers to long commutes, from ski trips to morning coffee. Each day is a surprise to us and I’m so happy we’ve decided to do this. Our plan is to post one picture every day for a year, although who knows how long this will last. On some days, pictures don’t get posted until late at night, other days they’re posted by 8 a.m., just depends on the bob and weave of life.
Theresa and I live very differently. She’s in the city, I’m in the suburbs. I have an SUV, she doesn’t have a current driver’s license. She is newly married and living in Brooklyn. I’m a mother and wife of a few years with a yard to mow and square footage to clean. I was afraid doing this project would make me yearn for what she has, freedom and creativity and a daily date with a city I love so much. But, in truth, although there are days I wish I was the one getting on the subway or reading newspapers on the street, for the most part, I’m even finding my own life interesting. I really enjoy looking back at what we’ve posted, and seeing what, on that particular morning, caught my eye.
Here are a few of my favorites (so far). You can keep up with the project by clicking on the icons in the top left hand corner of this page.
Day One
Day Four
Day Six
Day Ten
Day Twelve
You can view our joint Flickr page here. We each post a photo daily (you can view the NYC photos here and the KC ones here), and then combine the two. You can see the photos side by side here.
The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.” – His Holiness, the Dalai Lama (via Twitter)
Hi, did you miss my gratuitous political posts ala last fall?
No, huh?
Tough. My blog. My rules.
I hope no one sees this as a truly political post, although I suppose that’s inevitable. Mostly, this is a post about what we should do, as people, as Americans, to teach our generation(s) and the next what they owe to their country and fellow citizens.
I’m talking about the USA Call to Service. You can learn more about the details here, but basically it’s a call to service from President Elect Obama to do something, anything, for your community. The focus is especially on doing something on January 19th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Now, I know there are some people who are automatically going to scoff at this.
“Help people for one day, now you’re a saint?”
“Another politcal gimmick!”
“This is another ploy to get us to forget about the economy.”
“What about world affairs? Shouldn’t we be focusing on Gaza right now?”
“Pretentious liberal assholes…”
Some of this may be true, but regardless, I fail to see how encouraging and participating in a Day of Service is a negative thing. Sure, we should make it a daily focus of our lives. Sure, we do all have much to worry about these days. Yes, some people will use the system to their advantage.
But I feel that doing something, anything, is better than nothing.
On election day, Trent said to me (quite poigniantly, I might add), “OK, Mr. President, tell me what to do. If you want me to do 20 hours of community service, I will ask when and where.”
Now we have our chance. To find out more about how to participate in your area, please click here.
On a side note, I received an overwhelming response to my Kiva post last December, and even had one wonderful couple add Kiva to their wedding registry (Go Heath and Mikayla!). I’ve had a couple of emails asking to describe what Kiva actually does, as it’s pretty hard to put in to words. An amazing Kiva volunteer put together the following video, tracking one $25 Kiva loan through the entire process. It’s really a great thing to watch, I hope you do.
