via Carrie Can

This is awesome.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Up close & personal

I realized I never reblogged Sussy's post which showed a close up of the best-craft-ever-created which led me to Rick Springfield. So, go here to see it!

Harper started pre-school yesterday

But it was a slow integration pre-school where they don't let you leave until the child shows no signs of discomfort so I will still be going there with or without her in 2012. Hey-oh! But honestly, I do want to tell the teachers at some point, "Look, she is always going to get extremely upset at some point and it doesn't matter if I'm here or not." Case in point yesterday when she overdid her outside limit, which means she was outside for longer than 20 minutes and she melted down. They told me to come sit with her, a request my daughter quickly dismissed STRONGLY, as she preferred to cry by herself rather than be comforted. These are other tidbits from yesterday.

Me: Harper, I will stay there today, but I may leave on Thursday.

Harper: No, you can leave today.

Me: They won't let me leave today. I have to stay.

Harper: Oh! No, you can leave.

Me: Harper, I'm telling you, I have to stay today.

Harper: Oh! No, I mean, you can leave.

Me: I think when we actually get there you may feel differently.

We turn the corner and see the place.

Harper: I was just joking. You can stay.

(She didn't end up caring if I was there or not.) On the way home we discussed her time there.

Me: What are your teachers names? Do you remember?

Her: No! YOU know! You're the one who knows!

This child came out fully formed. And she is an adolescent general.

Our first contest?

We are selling our TV on craigslist. I asked Brett what I should say about it.

Brett: Write: Get ready to have your sh*t rocked.

So, as a joke I wrote: Perfect condition. It'll rock your sh*t off.

Brett: Please write that.

Me: I will not write that, because I want it to sell.

Brett: (completely serious)It'll sell, and it'll sell to a far more interesting person.

Me: It will NOT sell that way. Seriously, what should I write?

Brett: You should SERIOUSLY write that.

Me: I am NOT going to write that! What should I say?

Brett: FINE. If you're not going to be interesting, just be FACTUAL (contempt not at all disguised).

Now he wants to write two competing ads and see who gets more calls.

Dennis Quaid is here!

This is old, but young with hilarity.

Agh! I love Steven Colbert!

Thank you to Anthony for posting this. I really needed to hear it. And I needed to love Steven Colbert a little more. Not really, but it certainly didn't hurt. (Oops, I didn't credit the original source where you can read the whole speech in its entirety: Alternet.org)

Say “yes.” In fact, say “yes” as often as you can. When I was starting out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That was, “yes-and.” In this case, “yes-and” is a verb. To “yes-and.” I yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea what’s going to happen, maybe with someone you’ve never met before. To build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you’re doctors — you’re doctors. And then, you add to that: We’re doctors and we’re trapped in an ice cave. That’s the “-and.” And then hopefully they “yes-and” you back. You have to keep your eyes open when you do this. You have to be aware of what the other performer is offering you, so that you can agree and add to it. And through these agreements, you can improvise a scene or a one-act play. And because, by following each other’s lead, neither of you are really in control. It’s more of a mutual discovery than a solo adventure. What happens in a scene is often as much a surprise to you as it is to the audience.

Well, you are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say “yes.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say “yes” back. Now will saying “yes” get you in trouble at times? Will saying “yes” lead you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. But don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes.”