Thursday, November 29, 2007

the growing obesity epidemic

I present you with The Pop Rocks Chocolate Bar. The finest candy available on Planet Earth.

power

I found this commencement speech by Samantha Power to be inspiring in so many ways. It made me admire her work. It reminded me of my responsibility to the country. It bolstered my confidence in Barack Obama.

That's not the most important part, though. As I sat alone in the Lost Dog Cafe, gnawing on pizza, I was moved to tears by her fourth lesson. In the context of all of the larger truths, Power muses on the importance of friendship. Her words reminded me of how blessed I am to know so many honorable people who are doing their teeny-weeny part to make the world a better place--and who pass the "morbid but telling test" she describes:

"During the Bosnia war, none of us could have predicted where we would end up. Nor that, twelve years later, we would still be drinking together, laughing our heads off together and nursing one another through personal disappointment and loss. Each of us in our own small way is trying to make the world a teeny-weeny bit better, but I can't think of the last time any of us has discussed war, justice or politics with one another. We discuss books, baseball and boys. We cry together when it is warranted, but mainly we laugh. My, how we laugh...

I'm not sure who among us developed what will sound like a pretty warped standard for love. But one among us asked of a man she was seeing, "If I had to become a refugee, could I do it with him?" In my friend's case, the guy flunked and was given the boot. But that question, that standard, has remained with me. If you lost your creature comforts, if Katrina struck your neighborhood, who could make you laugh, care for you, remain curious about you and retain your curiosity? Each of my family members and my closest friends passes this morbid but telling test with a resounding yes. Lesson Number Four, then, is that when it comes to fighting the good fight, there is no fuel like friendship."

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

R.I.P. Tim Spicer

This week's front page news in Washington D.C. has been all about a black man who was murdered. Over the years that I have lived here, I would venture to say that hundreds of black men have been senselessly murdered within the city limits, but I don't recall a single instance where those murders were announced by a huge banner headline. The man mourned in these headlines wasn't even killed in D.C.; he was killed in Florida. Why does his tragic death matter so much more than the others?

Because he was paid a lot of money to play football.

At least one article seemed to pay attention to the sad truth that some deaths receive more attention. City leaders call on the Redskins to use their media power to draw attention to the epidemic of violence: "Celebrities have the potential to help us reach these kids," said Rhozier Brown of the Alliance for Concerned Men. "We're the nation's capital. This might be a rallying cry to get the Redskins to the table, because we need everybody's help. The Redskins need to help. Please, Mr. [Daniel] Snyder and Mr. [Joe] Gibbs. It's halftime. We need you."

I hope the Redskins use their power to speak for all of these anonymous victims. I doubt they will.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Laugh so loud everybody in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

It's such a nice thing to find the just right poem. I did it today.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

bridget's secret

I am not a regular customer at Victoria's Secret, but they have recently undertaken some novel marketing techniques that seem to indicate we are a better fit for one another than I thought. Not only are the pants named for me, I even like them!