This just in: Michelle Bachmann is still crazy!

My heart breaks for the resident's of Minnesota's 6th Congressional district:

Watch this video and you will see why!

I can only shake my head and wonder what her Chief of Staff must have thought when she said this - especially since the outbreak of the 1970's swine flu was under Ford's watch - not Carter....

Jazz, Darwin and God....Thank you Ben Sidran

Last night, Scott (my husband) and I attended a performance at the Dakota Jazz Club - Ben Sidran (who wrote Steve Miller's Space Cowboy) hooked up with some of his cronies from here in Minneapolis and gave a smokin' performance. Not just good old jazz standards, but he transformed a Dylan piece into something completely, wonderfully different. They say they didn't rehearse together as a group for the last 15 years, and even if that's only partially true - it seems they picked it up where they left it when they were touring....

I must admit that I didn't know Ben Sidran from anyone until Scott called me, all excited about the idea of buying tickets.... but then he showed me his bio, and this is one well credentialed cat - both musically and educationally. And it shows when he's on stage.... as he was launching into one of his songs, he talked about his philosophy that Jazz is simply an extension of Darwinian principles... that the feeling you get while participating in a jazz performance dates back to the dawn of human existence... that the music is similar to the behavior of humans around the fires of 250,000 years ago. The music reflects and enourages the "need to breed". He posited that the idea of "god" may have origins in the very same feelings.... in other words - if it makes all of us feel this good, and we aren't sure why (we can't see it or touch it), it must be something outside of what we can perceive, and we'll call it God.

Interesting sideline for a jazz performance on a Monday night in April!

Greetings from the (sort of) deep South - Charlotte

Work has led me to Charlotte, NC! It's lovely here in the spring time - rhododendrons are in full bloom, lawns are already lush and being mowed. I had an occasion to drive through the city, and so far my path has only led me through relatively affluent areas. Tomorrow, I have a few hours in the AM, so I will seek out the more middle - lower class neighborhoods. As a community relations "professional", I always make a point to seek out under-served areas of the cities that I visit - helps me keep grounded in my work. All too often, it's easy for visitors to see the bright and shiny parts of the city. I try to make sure I get a balanced point of view of the city.

Clearly a large group of affluent "old money" residents here - you know, like back to colonial days old money, like civil war old money. Drove down Billy Graham highway, and eventually saw the NASCAR building - a skyscraper in downtown Charlotte... a picture is starting to form. We'll see how tomorrow's adventures prove or disprove this image so far.... hmmmm...

Happy Earth Day - help save the humans

Whatever it means, I love the concept of a day set aside to celebrate and respect the planet on which we reside. I looked outsdie and said good morning to my daffodils and the rabbits. I try to plant something every Earth Day, which has helped my garden through the years be a more peaceful place for me.

Unfortunately, this day probably started out of desperation for raising awareness about what we do to our home in the solar system. It serves as a reminder that what we abuse, we end up losing.

Let me be clear. I don't think that global warming will "make the world explode". Mother Earth will continue in one state or another. People need to understand that we are not trying to save the Earth - we are trying to slow the extincition of the human species, and other species. So, instead of "Save the Earth" we should say "Save the Humans". Maybe then people will understand that if we continue to dump our manufactured, toxic waste into the air, water and land, we will cease to exist.

For all the people that refute the science behind global climate change.... there are other reasons to worry about dumping crap into our natural resources. Try an experiment: Take two glasses of drinking water: One, leave clear as it comes out of the tap. The Second - randomly pick 4 cleaning agents that you have under the sink - everyone has them - Windex, dishwashing soap, drain cleaner, silver polish, whatever. Put one tiny drop of each of those chemicals into the second glass - hopefully you won't make a potentially lethal combination to begin with.

One drop vs a whole glass is "not that much"(It's just one barrel of waste that we dumped into the stream, that's not that much). But, would you drink it? How much would you have to paid to drink it? (Companies would rather pay the fine than clean up their processes).

And the ultimate test: Would you consider offering that second glass of water to your child, grandchild, or any other person who "wouldn't know better"... Think about it the next time you hear about individuals and corporations who push against changing thier policies to dump less waste into the air, water and land.

Which glass do you want your grandchildren to drink from?

Cheek to Cheek at the movies

When was the last time that you went to a movie in a theater and it was completely sold out, and all the seats were full?

I can't remember the last time I was in that spot, until last night. My husband and I attended a special showing of North by Northwest at "the Heights" theater in Columbia Heights (39th and Central Ave NE).. it was packed! Many Highlights to report:

1) the theater itself: recently restored from a discount theater, the owner has lovingly, meticulously restored this place to it's original condition, right down to the Wurlitzer organ!

2) The organ player: Some very talented dude named Harvey played the organ as the crowd filled in every seat. Way better than the ads/trivia you see in megaplexes. When the movie was ready to start, the wurlitzer (including Harvey) was lowered down to the orchestra pit - I swear I was back in the 1940's!

3) There is a Dairy Queen next door, and you can bring in your blizzard to the show! Outside food is allowed! (at least the stuff from DQ!)

4) Big Screen + Original Technicolor Film Reels = Amazing. I've seen North by Northwest on Television many times.... but Eva Marie Saint never looked so beautiful, and Cary Grant never looked this handsome... although the Hollywood kisses (Lipmashing) was a little more obvious than on the small screen

A fabulous date recommendation... young and old, kids and grandparents.... a wholesome night of fun.... and if you stop at Dick's bar before or after you can get your share of grown up refreshments! I highly recommend if you live in the Twin Cities area that you partake in the experience of the Heights Theater! Take a look at the pics here

The Lost Art of Skipping

As I was walking out of my local coffee shop this morning, I heard an odd pattern of footfall from behind me. I thought to myself "that sounds like someone skipping! How odd is that?". I turned and saw a woman with a 6-7 year old girl, who, of course was the one who was skipping.

Certainly not an unusual occurrence, but it was remarkable. Why is that only children seem to skip? If there are several ways to effectively transport our bodies, (walking ,jogging, running, skipping), why do adults do the others but not skip? And why do only girls skip after a certain age?

Looking at the girl, I realised that I had every reason to be skipping this morning. It's a bright, warm spring day to day. The flowers in my garden are starting to bloom. I had a lovely cup of coffee in my hand. I have a productive, fun filled day at work ahead of me. I love my husband and children, and they love me. We all have our health, and though not wealth, we are lucky to be employed and making ends meet.

So, why was I not skipping? I haven't skipped since my kids were small... I think I will try to skip this weekend.... Do you ever skip?

Words of the day... and what it says about our education system

You may alredy know that Dictionary.com offers a daily email with their Word of the Day. Most days, I am thoroughly disappointed when I receive it, as I already know and use the word correctly. I am discouraged by the fact some of these words should have been a part of everyday language for most. Maybe I'm just being a vocbulary elitist, but shouldn't everyone know what flummox means, or how to use the word elucidate in a sentence? I believe that our focus on standardized testing and NCLB goals has prevented our school age children from falling in love with the language, and increasing their vocabulary out of want vs. need.

Today's word is actually very cool and unusual: susurrus (a whispering or rustling sound. )

Aside from unusual and limited frequency of use, it has another trait that I adore - It's onomatopoetic. In other words, the word mimics the sound it's describing (Flush, hiss, etc.)... I've spent hours thinking of words that fall into this category, and have had numerous arguments with my husbando about whether they fit or not - he has a more traditionalist view, I bend on the edges a little. For example: skate - isn't that the noise the skate makes on the ice? That's what it sounds like to me! What's your favorite onomatopoeia?

I've been bad....

at blogging from the road! And probably some other reasons too!

My week started off with a bang when my wonderful husband landed in the ER on Monday at 3:00 AM, with abdominal pain, eventually diagnosed as diverticulitis... the poor guy's rockstar lifestyle really is catching up to him... Playing nurse Jenny took up the next 24 hours...

Then it was off to Detroit for a work related function.... Dearborn, actually. During this off site meeting, we did some teambuilding, some development, and way too much eating. Highlights: Murder Mystery dinner (our team got the closest to solving it!), Teambuilding with a Second City Improv group (A reminder of the fact that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it!), the pool (although it was small, it did offset the next highlight), the food - was fabulous!

Back home on Thursday nite, and spent all day on Friday catching up on work!

So, my apologies to the few of you who check in often and found nothing new... I promise, I'll call home next time if I'm going to be home late!

It's Friday Afternoon

And my boss is working from home, and my other team mate left just a few minutes ago. What keeps me at my desk? Only a fine wire of obligation. I can feel it tensing as I write.... there it goes, it's being stretched.... SNAP!

Now for a moment of silent guilt.......

Ok, that's it - let the weekend begin! I am out of here!

Has anybody seen my sense of humor?

I seem to have lost it somewhere along the way....

It's April Fools day today, and I normally would have spent at least a few minutes trying to come up with some prank I could pull on the people around me... but I just can't seem to focus on the task. I could post something outlandish on Facebook, I could tell my boss I've decided to move to Detroit, I could tell my husband that we won the lottery.... but in all honesty, I just dont' think I'd get any joy out of the trick!

I desperately miss working with a team of people who, every single day, would give me an occasion to laugh out loud! As with most things, I guess if you don't use your sense of humor, you end up gradually losing it!

Anybody got any good jokes they can share with me so that I can start using it again before it's completely gone?