"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
— E.B. White
The Black Bar glasses strike again: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1707052930. Thanks to Roxanne Darling (Beach Walks with Rox) for turning me on to this silly holiday fun. Note: Elf Yourself is spreading virally, so their server is a bit slow. If you get a server error, try again later. Or not, as your mood dictates. For more giggles check out JibJab including their musical year 2007 wrap-up.
Usually the holiday season is stressful with shopping and shipping to be done for both Chanukah and Christmas. This year, with more free time on my hands, it's been more fun and I'm enjoying making some of the gifts — using my quote collection for inspiration.
I generally have more fun reading online than writing. I'm up and running on Facebook now and hooked on Scrabulous and other applications. I poked around SecondLife some more and ended up becoming (even though I'm a newbie, just by getting there early) an officer of a new guild. It's hard to make myself stop and blog. I have the two next weeks off so I hope to catch up a bit on both learning SL and on my blog.
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Trains, Feminists, and Symphonies
"When I care to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
– Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
I've always enjoyed train travel, but even more so now that flying has become such a drag. So I'd planned to blog about the sights and sounds of yesterday's ride on the Wolverine line from my big sisters in Chicago to my kid sister in small-town Michigan. It was a mellow and relaxing ride brightened by late autumn leaves and the mingled soundtracks of the train and my iPod. But when I had settled in at her place and logged on, my plans were derailed.
Before settling in to blog, I thought I'd catch up on email and some of my favorite web sites. While doing so I ran across yet another woman who felt the need to declare that she is "not a feminist" in order to make sure no one thinks she's one of those threatening man-haters. I'm going to make a big assumption here that if you're reading my blog you can understand why those words were like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
So my reaction – after "Arrrrrrggghhh!!!" – was to go surfing for inspiration and hope and counteractive definitions of feminism that would make it so obvious that every self-respecting woman of any age would immediately want to buy one of those great t-shirts that say "This is what a feminist looks like" and that a goodly number of men would do so as well. My surfing led me to 1001 Feminist Quotes (e.g, "Feminism is for everybody." - Bell Hooks and "In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." — Gloria Steinem) and I started to feel a lot better.
Then my sister came in and got me giggling by reading aloud a timely passage from Ivy Briefs, True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student by Martha Kimes, on how difficult it is to keep one's attention to one's studies, and I was reminded that I had intended to write but instead had spent all my time web-surfing. I signed off without blogging and watched a video with the family instead.
Fast forward to this evening when my niece played clarinet in a symphony performance. It was a great concert; she had fun and played well, and then we all went out to dinner. As we drove home, I thought again about why I'm a feminist. Not only because I'm a woman but because I have sisters and nieces and because there is a world full of wonderful and inspiring women and girls who should not ever be considered or treated as second-class citizens. I sat down to get back to my blogging but first went back to the source of the "not a feminist" comment that I'd followed off-track last night. A lively discussion had followed that comment and it had resolved fairly well. I breathed a sigh of relief. Leaping Woman would not have to leap into the fray. After all, I'm on vacation.
– Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
I've always enjoyed train travel, but even more so now that flying has become such a drag. So I'd planned to blog about the sights and sounds of yesterday's ride on the Wolverine line from my big sisters in Chicago to my kid sister in small-town Michigan. It was a mellow and relaxing ride brightened by late autumn leaves and the mingled soundtracks of the train and my iPod. But when I had settled in at her place and logged on, my plans were derailed.
Before settling in to blog, I thought I'd catch up on email and some of my favorite web sites. While doing so I ran across yet another woman who felt the need to declare that she is "not a feminist" in order to make sure no one thinks she's one of those threatening man-haters. I'm going to make a big assumption here that if you're reading my blog you can understand why those words were like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
So my reaction – after "Arrrrrrggghhh!!!" – was to go surfing for inspiration and hope and counteractive definitions of feminism that would make it so obvious that every self-respecting woman of any age would immediately want to buy one of those great t-shirts that say "This is what a feminist looks like" and that a goodly number of men would do so as well. My surfing led me to 1001 Feminist Quotes (e.g, "Feminism is for everybody." - Bell Hooks and "In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." — Gloria Steinem) and I started to feel a lot better.
Then my sister came in and got me giggling by reading aloud a timely passage from Ivy Briefs, True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student by Martha Kimes, on how difficult it is to keep one's attention to one's studies, and I was reminded that I had intended to write but instead had spent all my time web-surfing. I signed off without blogging and watched a video with the family instead.
Fast forward to this evening when my niece played clarinet in a symphony performance. It was a great concert; she had fun and played well, and then we all went out to dinner. As we drove home, I thought again about why I'm a feminist. Not only because I'm a woman but because I have sisters and nieces and because there is a world full of wonderful and inspiring women and girls who should not ever be considered or treated as second-class citizens. I sat down to get back to my blogging but first went back to the source of the "not a feminist" comment that I'd followed off-track last night. A lively discussion had followed that comment and it had resolved fairly well. I breathed a sigh of relief. Leaping Woman would not have to leap into the fray. After all, I'm on vacation.
Thanks to my sister for the boost I got when, while sighing with relief, I looked down and saw my blog bookmarked on her desktop. Sisterhood is powerful!
Tomorrow, I'm back on the train to spend a couple of days with Mom. When I fly, the trip is just a means to an end. When I take the train, the journey is part of the fun. Maybe I'll tell you about it when I get there. Maybe.
Tomorrow, I'm back on the train to spend a couple of days with Mom. When I fly, the trip is just a means to an end. When I take the train, the journey is part of the fun. Maybe I'll tell you about it when I get there. Maybe.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Freedom to Browse
"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense."
-- Gertrude Stein
I'm always looking for quotes from women since most of the web (and print) collections are dominated by men. I also look for quotes on learning that are relevant to my work in training. But sometimes the search for the right uplifting, thought-provoking, entertaining, or at least relevant quote becomes such a time sink that I have to let it go.
For example, I went looking for something for my previous post, Freedom to Learn and Play. My search spread, intermittently, over a few days and took me to several sites with quotes by women:
Four days later my browsing and searching had led me, by a delightfully circuitous route, to this quote:
But not before I'd spent hours reading blogs such as Beth's Blog on social media for nonprofits, watched a few educational videos, signed up for Sloodle, browsed a Second Life virtual bookstore, and grazed many other sites including a LifeHack article Learn Something New Every Day that tempted me with links to more great sites.
I suppose that roundabout journey could be considered "losing my common sense" as Gertrude described. But I had so much fun and learned so much (Sloodle!) that it could as easily be considered "coming to my senses." Still, Gertrude's quote describes modern information overload so well that it's hard to believe she died in 1946. And to get the hang of blogging I may have to start partitioning my reading time from my writing.
-- Gertrude Stein
I'm always looking for quotes from women since most of the web (and print) collections are dominated by men. I also look for quotes on learning that are relevant to my work in training. But sometimes the search for the right uplifting, thought-provoking, entertaining, or at least relevant quote becomes such a time sink that I have to let it go.
For example, I went looking for something for my previous post, Freedom to Learn and Play. My search spread, intermittently, over a few days and took me to several sites with quotes by women:
Four days later my browsing and searching had led me, by a delightfully circuitous route, to this quote:
"We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn."
-- Mary Catherine Bateson
But not before I'd spent hours reading blogs such as Beth's Blog on social media for nonprofits, watched a few educational videos, signed up for Sloodle, browsed a Second Life virtual bookstore, and grazed many other sites including a LifeHack article Learn Something New Every Day that tempted me with links to more great sites.
I suppose that roundabout journey could be considered "losing my common sense" as Gertrude described. But I had so much fun and learned so much (Sloodle!) that it could as easily be considered "coming to my senses." Still, Gertrude's quote describes modern information overload so well that it's hard to believe she died in 1946. And to get the hang of blogging I may have to start partitioning my reading time from my writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)