Good Stuff from Intel

Wonder how long it got them to sign the "Bong" part correctly? Hmmm . . .

So Completely Inspiring!

I imagine that many of you don't listen to NPR's All Things Considered and perhaps didn't hear this story yesterday evening. I imagine that many of you also don't watch Britain's Got Talent. I imagine that you may not yet have been one of the 15 MILLION people to see this fabulous performance by Susan Boyle.

So, take a look. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll be shocked. Awestruck. Happy. Joyous. And chills will overcome you, if they don't make you cry from genuine happiness and knowing that you're hearing something, well, extraordinary!

I dreamed a dream in times gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me
That we'll live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So much different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

Kudos, Susan Boyle. May God and his angels bless you on your journey and soon bring us all such beautiful music!

P.S. - Elaine Page has nothing on you. Your performance has blown her's out of the water.

Revisiting CF #4

Videos now on YouTube (much better than the ones shot on the Treo):


WFU Concert Choir singing We'll Dress the House.


Joy to the World


Silent Night

Anything is Possible

Yesterday, someone at work posted this video of Randy Pausch on the intranet. It's a shorter version of his hour-long "Last Lecture," that he gave at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007. (Here's the link for the hour-long one.)



He's dying of incurable pancreatic cancer. The amazing part is that this is about how to live, not how to die.

It's all about focus . . . and I'm glad that I'm a Tigger.

The Significance of December 1

From the AmFAR website: "For the past 19 years, the world has marked World AIDS Day—December 1—with events commemorating the 25 million people who have died of AIDS and with a recommitment to fighting the epidemic. Each year, the number of people affected by the pandemic increases, and the calls to action grow louder. The message this December 1 is clear: AIDS is not simply someone else’s problem. Under the theme of leadership, this year’s World AIDS Day will highlight the need for strong and committed leaders at all levels of society to join the fight against AIDS."

For All Those Who Have or Have Ever Had Cats

This really reminds me of one of my childhood cats, Stripes . . .

So Good, I Had to Post it Now

Lyrics to The Mom Song (sung to the tune of the William Tell Overture):
Get up now
Get up now
Get up out of bed
Wash your face
Brush your teeth
Comb your sleepyhead
Here's your clothes and your shoes
Hear the words I said
Get up now! Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you wearing that?
Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat
Don't forget! You gotta feed the cat
Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today
Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play
Don't shovel
Chew slowly
But hurry
The bus is here
Be careful
Come back here
Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside, don't play rough, will you just play fair?
Be polite, make a friend, don't forget to share
Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare
Get along! Don't make me come down there
Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away
Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay?
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone! Get off the phone!
Don't sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table
No more computer time tonight!
Your iPod's my iPod if you don't listen up
Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you're coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You'll appreciate my wisdom someday when you're older and you're grown
Can't wait till you have a couple little children of your own
You'll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate
Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate
Use your fork, do not burp or I'll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A, get the door, don't get smart with me
Get a grip, get in here, I'll count to three
Get a job, get a life, get a PHD
Get a dose of,
"I don't care who started it!
You're grounded until you're 36"
Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven's sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too?
If I've said it once, I've said at least a thousand times before
That you're too old to act this way
It must be your father's DNA
Look at me when I am talking
Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything and everything must be in place
Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about
Oh!
Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on
Get in bed, get a help, say a prayer with mom
Don't forget, I love you
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom's work never ends
You don't need the reason why
Because, because, because, because
I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so
I'm the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!!

Favorite Disney moments

Yes, I was a younger girl, once upon a time . . . There are probably more, but I can't spend all night surfing You Tube.

Hakuna Matata, The Lion King


A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, Cinderella


Kiss the Girl, The Little Mermaid

I couldn't resist.

YouTube and Culture

Today, I discovered Schoolhouse Rock videos on You Tube, thanks to Jim.

Schoolhouse Rock is a show which I evidently missed during my childhood, but was fairly significant to most others during their childhood. I've been reminded many times of that fact during random conversations - at work, in grad school, at bars, with other friends, etc. Of course, most of those with whom I've had these conversations seem to be close to my age, if not my age. Ergo, I wonder how I missed such a huge cultural phenomenon (as it seems to have been).

Regardless, I've always understood that it's topics were quite useful and in fact may have made many of my peers better writers, better mathematicians, and better students than they already were. (Thank God for that. There weren't a bunch of people in school who could string a decent sentence together, much less remember their multiplication tables.)

Today, I find that the information is really quite useful as I am finally exposed to the cultural phenomenon on which I've completely missed out. I certainly don't agree it's silly to think that if I watched enough of the Schoolhouse Rock videos, I could claim that shared identity which I do not have now.

Videos I've seen so far:
- Three is a Magic Number


- Conjunction Junction


- Rufus Xavier Sasparilla


- I'm Just a Bill (I could have used this myself! History is not, and probably never will be, a strength for me.)


Given that You Tube has just proven to me that it has more value than simply pure entertainment, I wonder how many other functions it serves. I'm know there's a social networking aspect (given the option to log in, post comments, post replies, etc.), but are there other instances where You Tube serves perhaps even higher purposes?

If You Tube can and does communicate culture and can create shared identity again, even years after the initial phase of communicating that culture and creating that shared identity, what else does You Tube have the power to do? Whom else can You Tube affect? Is it possible to use You Tube as a place to encourage social justice? Regime change - for third world countries? Education? Will You Tube create a professional version, where one could find information and video clips from the world over, that could be used in confidence and recognized as truly trustworthy, especially as a reference in a thesis?

Is this perhaps a situation where I simply don't know enough to realize that I don't know?