Brains Plus Beauty
Published by
Dani on October 9th, 2008 at
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They’ve been on MSNBC, Newsweek, and the Today Show. They’re the purportedly rare combination of brains and beauty. They’re the Nerd Girls and they’re out to bust up some myths!
“We’re here to say, you can be not just one-dimensional. You can have everything. You can be smart and athletic and fun and have it all,” said Reshma Taufiq on the Today Show. She’s a Nike employee working to bring India up to speed in the digital age.
Taufiq was accompanied by the founder of Nerd Girls, Karen Panetta, along with a master’s student in biological engineering student, an engineer for Boeing, and computer engineer working with microprocessors. All beautiful girls who look just as at home in stilettos as they do in labcoats.
When anyone sets out to smash stereotypes I always wonder if they are making actual progress or just reinforcing the old label. I admire their effort to put intelligence in the spotlight, but would they be getting the attention they want on their brains were they not beautiful? I know that’s what they’re trying to say, that beauty and brains can co-exist, but does it also prove that the two have to go together for brains to even be noticed?
In our culture, is not intelligence alone something to be noted? Women are still trying to prove that looks and smarts aren’t an anomaly.
These are just some thoughts; some healthy poking and prodding. What do you think of the Nerd Girls? More power to them or are they proving that beauty is the biggest bait to be noticed in other arenas? (See also the official Nerd Girls website)
Street Level - Is There An Afterlife?
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Though it is a certainty that we all at one point or another pass away, the question of an afterlife remains a highly debated subject.
Street Level - Is There An Afterlife?:
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Read about one woman’s response to the passing of her husband much earlier than anyone had expected.
The American Dream and a Potato Peeler
Published by
Dani on October 6th, 2008 at
12:58 pm in
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The American dream is often defined as the ability to rise above one’s current status or class and achieve prosperity: monetary and material success. The greatest stories of those that embody the American dream are the ones who got there with inscrutable work ethic, perseverance, and incredible insight.
Take Joe Ades. He’s 74, works 6 days a week, 10 hours a day, on a street corner in New York. Doing what? Peddling potato peelers for 5 bucks a pop. Alright, so the guy works hard into his old age doing something average, if not a little bit peculiar. But here’s the gold: he lives on Park Avenue, one of the richest spots in the world. His walls are adorned with art, his former maid’s room is now for peeler storage, and his three young granddaughters college educations are more than paid for. Over the decades as a street salesman, he’s proved that slow and steady wins the race.
Born in Manchester, England during the second world war, he learned the tricks of the trade from peddlers who made their business on top of the bomb rubble. He’s been doing it ever since, getting up before the sun, donning a $1,000 suit and bringing his stock to the streets.
It’s an incredible story, but in an interview with MSNBC, what stole my attention was a statement he made about happiness.
“I think that’s the secret of happiness. Not doing what you like, but liking what you do.”
If you were to ask me if I want to spend several decades selling potato peelers on the street, chances are good I’d say ‘no way’. But Ades doesn’t see it that way
What do you think of Ades’ take on happiness? Do you do what you like or like what you do?
The Never-Ending Headline Reel
Published by
Dani on September 26th, 2008 at
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I open up a newspaper or the internet to instantly gauge the pulse of what’s happening in our world. Headlines vie for my attention: “South Africa Picks President, but Uncertainty Remains”, “China’s Milk Scandal Now Seen as Risk in Europe” and “Talks Implode During Day of Chaos; Fate of Bailout Plan Remains Unresolved”. There’s even one about how PETA is urging Ben & Jerry’s to make their ice cream with breast milk. I’m not kidding.
Headlines, whether they are world-changing or completely ridiculous, rule our world. I wonder how they affect me. Do they change my life? Do i simply feel informed for a quick moment only to then go about normal routine and forget?
Thomas Jefferson was once quoted as saying,
“I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.”
I wonder if he was on to something. I do want to be informed, but sometimes I wonder if I am really connected with this constant hum of information. Often I feel like the news changes so fast and I’ll never keep up, so why pick up a newspaper when it’s just going to be tomorrow’s fire starter?
The people, places and events of our world are important, but do you invest time into staying informed about them beyond just the headlines? How do you decide what’s most important to you, since we can never keep up with all of the latest news?
Image source: Stitch
Street Level - Do You Have a 10 Year Plan?
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There are many benefits to taking time to regularly set goals to work towards. However, many people feel the need to create plans that extends years, and even decades into the future. This week we asked people on the street how far ahead they plan, and what those plans tend to include.
Street Level - Do You Have a 10 Year Plan?:
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Check out this article on the importance of staying optimistic about the future, especially in tough times.
In a Generation of Peter Pans…
Published by
Dani on September 22nd, 2008 at
6:59 pm in
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Apparently that Matthew McConaughey movie Failure to Launch wasn’t just fiction, it was a 2-hour reality showcase.
In a Newsweek article titled, “Why I Am Leaving Guyland“, Tony Dokoupil chronicles why the staples of “becoming a man” are being shirked by this generation more than any other in history. “Peter Pans” are running rampant and eschewing the education-marriage-house-kids traditions of their parents.
Drawing from experts and his own crew of alpha males, Dokoupil goes searching for why Guyland is populated with “kidults” (or so they’re dubbed). What he finds is negative attitudes towards marriage, changing economic patterns (men earning less, women earning more) and social forces like isolation and an increasing number of guys still living at home. But one factor that I never really thought about is our culture’s message of marriage:
“The failure to launch is perhaps no surprise given the onslaught of messages that suggest settling down is tantamount to ripping up one’s ticket to the party,” says Dokoupil.
Single men are portrayed as living large and having it all, while married men are shown as stiff, conservative types sitting on the butt end of jokes.
What do you think about this trend in our society? What is your feeling about marriage, and why do you think this is becoming a trademark of this generation?
Image credit: leo.prie.to
Is the Presidential Campaign Too Long?
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After almost two years of campaigning we are (finally) less than two months away from the Presidential election. In Canada, their entire campaign and election will take place in less time than that. How long does it take to pick a President? Is two years too long?
Is the US presedential election too long?:
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More election issues:
Economy: Home foreclosure’s emotional toll
Environment: 7 Ways to go green
September 21 - Marking a Day for Peace
Published by
Dani on September 15th, 2008 at
4:16 pm in
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Back in 1998, filmmaker Jeremy Gilley witnessed, as we all do, the world’s condition: The poverty, the killing, and the war. But he decided to get up and do something about it. He set out to make a film about peace. Yet finding no official day of peace on the calendar, his mission soon became to make one. Gilleys traveled around the world, from Somalia to Sri Lanka, and met with the likes of the Dalai Lama and Kofi Annan to stop the violence for one official 24-hour slot on September 21st of every year.
“If we want to move from a culture of war to a culture of peace then we are going to have to unite”
Not only did he advocate a day that would promote unity and a worldwide ceasefire, but he discovered that on this day, instead of fighting, children could be immunized, aid could be distributed, and lives could be saved.
To think that one man pushed the first domino that saw every member state of the United Nations sign on for Peace Day is incredible. I always think of the calendar as this be-all-and-end-all written in stone. Not as something I could actually influence. Yet Gilleys, demanding the ideal for peace on our planet, walked up to the calendar with a permanent marker.
What are your thoughts on Gilleys and Peace Day? Did you know Peace Day existed?
To visit the website, go to: www.peaceoneday.org or to watch the YouTube video, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FmEIP46B-E
Image credit: jcolman
Remembering September 11th
Published by
Dani on September 11th, 2008 at
11:51 am in
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I stirred out of my sleep, peeked over my pillow at the clock and listened to the serious-toned voice of the radio DJ as he spoke something people could scarcely believe that was happening in New York.
Something felt weird. It was really quiet. My feet felt the carpet, I opened my door, and, hearing the TV on in my parent’s bedroom, I turned to see my mom watching it in silence.
Massive plumes of smoke were choking their way out of one of the twin towers. Reporters were firing off what they knew, but for one long moment, it was just that scene. No words.
It’s the first thing I remember about that day.
As we all look back, there is still so much emotional resonance. (Was it really seven years ago?) The images, the faces, the stories of bravery, and last-minute phone calls will always stay with us. That day bore witness to what real darkness looks like in our world, the heart of evil. But in its midst rose the things that buoy the human spirit – courage, triumph, love, undeniable hope.
Everyone grappled for something to hope for that day. For something or someone to lock eyes with and be comforted by.
What hope did you find in September 11th? What do you remember about the events and emotions of that day?
Related reading: My son was a NYPD officer during September 11. This is my story, of that day and everything that came afterwards.
Google’s next attempt to take over the web: Chrome
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I’m writing this post using Google Chrome. It’s Google’s just-released web browser, which some claim runs faster and better than both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the two browsers which currently dominate the Internet “browser wars”. Does it seem to anyone else like Google is slowing trying to take over the web? (Search, email, document editing, maps, video, web browser …)
Google published a free online comic to describe their approach to their browser, and say elsewhere that “What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that’s what we set out to build.”
In my own brief testing, Google Chrome seems to run fine, but I don’t see why I’d use it instead of Firefox.
Are you happy with your current web browser? Will you try Google Chrome, and what would it take to get you to switch? Post your current browser favorite in the comments and why you use it!
Download Google Crome here (Windows only)
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