another happy dance around the world

I enjoy living under a rock, but I somehow missed this video that came out four years ago. In any case, it's an awesome follow-up to my favorite video of all time.

Enjoy.

good news network

via

I love new beginnings: new years, birthdays, and the start of a new school year. My husband teaches, and my daughters are both going to "school" this fall, so there is a palpable excitement in our house about the new chapter beginning soon. (School starts on Monday.)

If you're in need of a pick-me-up, and the usual bad-news news is bringing you down, I've found the Good News Network to be a great source of good deeds and happy events.

Here's a rundown of some recent happenings:

- Why 100 Black Men In Suits Were Cheering by a School Bus 

via

- Mexico Asked Graffiti Artists To Paint An Entire Town – Joy Was the Result

via

- He Hauls His Upright Piano to Beaches and Parks Just to Make Your Day

via

-  Quiet Time Program Brings Radical Improvement To Schools Worldwide

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It's nice to be reminded that the world is a good place.

bouncy balls

We don't watch TV at home, but my daughter now knows two music videos and loves them. The first is the cello video below, and here is the second one. It's actually a commercial, but I think it's a beautiful work of art, and I love the song ("Hearts" by Jose Gonzalez), too. Enjoy!

2cellos

Good morning! Here's a beautiful video to start off your week.

Croatia has been one of my favorite countries for a decade now, and this video shows both the beautiful Plitvice Lakes and the talented Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser playing "I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons. Enjoy.

everyday miracles

Hello!  I'm six days away from my estimated due date, but I'm still as pregnant as ever and wanted to share some pretty awesome stories with you.

So, this first one comes from the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), typically associated these days with "civil war, child soldiers and worst of all the systematic rape of women as a weapon of war." 

Not exactly puppies and rainbows.  So, when I heard about this orchestra, I was pretty floored.  I'll let the 60 Minutes clip speak for itself.  Enjoy.

If you're inspired and feel like donating, you can go here.

The next video is about a boy named Caine and his DIY cardboard arcade.  A filmmaker in LA was so taken with Caine's creation, he created an instant mob and a short to capture the "best day of Caine's life."  You can read about how the filmmaker found Caine here, and again, I'll let the short speak for itself.  Enjoy.

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

And in case all of this is too feel-good for you, you can read about the benefits of swearing, gossiping and being a slob here. :-)

music and maternity photos

My favorite video of all time is still the happy dance around the world (here), but this one (above) of musicians around the world all shot on 10/10/10 is also pretty awesome.  Enjoy!

On a more personal note, life is often funniest when it isn't trying to be.  I'm 34 weeks pregnant this week and 34 years old.  Tomorrow, I'll be 35 weeks pregnant and will be turning 35 years old this coming weekend.  Planned?  Nope.  Kind of a fun coincidence?  Yup. :-)

I really feel the older you get, the more quickly life zooms by.  Here's a time lapse video that I thought was neat, demonstrating just that:

I also just discovered these photo series and think they're a great idea.  Life as art, and art as life.  We've been taking weekly photos, too, to document the growing belly, but we have yet to do anything with them.  

Here are some shots from the original series.  I love the descriptions.  You can see the full blog/series here.

And here are some from the series I came across first (inspired by the above series).  It reflects the different personality of the mom, and I have to admit I cried at the end of this one.  You can see the whole series here.

happy 2012

Happy new year!  Holy cow, I can't believe I haven't posted anything since November.  Just goes to show that time can truly slip away quickly!

I'm still going through travel photos and will post soon with the rest of South America and start the Asia segment, but in the meantime, here's a CNN video and New York Times article about a cell phone that stopped the New York Philharmonic.  The offending party sat in the front row and didn't realize it was his phone-- his apologetic response is in the NYT article.  I thought it was a fascinating juxtaposition of new and old colliding.

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And here's an email I got recently.  I know, it's yet another forwarded, lengthy and maybe even untrue story, but I thought it was pretty touching.  Enjoy. :-)

Two Choices 


What would you do?....you make the choice.

Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice? 

  
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 
  
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.  Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.  Where is the natural order of things in my son?' 
  
The audience was stilled by the query. 
  
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' 
  
Then he told the following story: 
  
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps. 
  
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..' 
  
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted. 
  
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. 
  
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands. 
  
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. 
  
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. 
  
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? 
  
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. 
  
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. 
  
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. 
  
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. 
  
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. 
  
The game would now be over. 
  
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. 
  
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. 
  
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. 
  
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!  Run to first!' 
  
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. 
  
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. 
  
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' 
  
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. 
  
By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. 
  
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. 
  
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. 
  
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, all the Way!' 
  
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!  Shay, run to third!' 
  
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' 
  
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
  
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'. 
  
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day! 
  

  
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY: 
  
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. 
  
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces. 
  
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message.  Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. 

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'  

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats its least fortunate. 
  
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: 
  
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?   

step aside, susan boyle

I'll just let this video speak for itself.  (I will admit it made me cry.)

Enjoy!

joanna newsom

I've been on a Feist kick lately and poked around to see what else I could find.  The one that stood out was this Joanna Newsom, who has been around for a few years, but I'd never heard of her until now.

I don't know how old she is, but she reminds me a bit of a little Bjork-- a little girl Bjork who can play the harp.  So, in case you haven't heard of her yet, either, I hope you enjoy this introduction:

happy feist and some badly drawn boy

After a rainy spring break, we finally have beautiful weather again (just in time for the first day of the new quarter).  Here's a little happy Feist Mushaboom to celebrate.

And I love the ending of this video (from "About a Boy").  Reminds me a bit of Wall-E.  Enjoy!



Have a beautiful day. 

hoof and anvil, tiny tornadoes and one happy island

Last night, my partner and I went to Toad, a perfectly tiny bar in Porter Square. We met a nice musician at a barbecue a few weeks ago who told us his band, One Happy Island, would be performing soon, so we decided to go support him.

Hoof and Anvil opened with folksy acoustic mellow goodness; sibling duo Tiny Tornadoes was up next with energetic hooting and an impressive, soulful female vocalist (Shira); and One Happy Island was last, with a wide variety of instruments and what truly sounded like a happy island. (I think it was the ukelele that did it, but the trumpet and bells are strong contenders, too.)

My conclusion: I need to listen to live music more often. Did I mention that admission was free? And that artists like G. Love and Special Sauce got their start at Toad?

Right.

And speaking of music, I need some new stuff. I'm thinking mellow but fun and worldly. Like if Jack Johnson, Ozomatli, Thievery Corporation and Dido had a musical baby. Any recommendations?

A beautiful music video

Every once in a while, I come across a music video that I consider a work of art. Of course, my disclaimer is that I don't see many music videos, and maybe they are all works of art now. At any rate, Neko Case was featured in the New York Times magazine, and I really enjoyed this video: Maybe Sparrow.

Some say she is indie country, and if this is where country is headed, I just may have to stop disliking it. Enjoy!

Spontaneous music + Paris + dancing children

= happiness (video of Menomena's "Wet and Rusting"). I love discovering great new music, especially when it's so artistically presented.

#62.3 - Menomena - Wet and Rusting

Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Arts and animation videos.

La Blogotheque describes their efforts on their about page:

Every week, we invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword.

Here is another artistic take (video of Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible") in an elevator.

#41 - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible & Wake Up

Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

I don't know how many instruments they crammed in there, but it's impressive. The strings are beautiful, and the percussion is very creative. (If you aren't into watching them just look cool, you can go to about 3:50, as the song starts a few seconds after that.)
Enjoy!