creative class projects = awesome

I'm honored that Trevor, who is clearly talented and going to make beautiful films, decided to choose our cafe for his class project.  Here is his 30-second commercial of our shop.  Enjoy!

Bello Mundo from Trevor Hooper on Vimeo.

welcome to the world, aria!

I've been a mom for twelve days now, and I can finally understand what all of the hullaballoo is about.  My partner and I are deliriously in love with our newborn, and we love being parents.  For someone who really values using my time productively, I now just want to stare at my little one all day long.  She grows so quickly that she looks a little different every day, and while babies can't actually smile on purpose until they're about six weeks old, my little Aria has these involuntary little smiles that completely melt my heart.

You know those annoying people who keep sending you photos of their babies?  Now I can see why. As the parent, you think your kid is the cutest thing EVER to land on this planet.  Never mind that newborns are usually not that attractive and make me think of Benjamin Button.  I even said to my partner when I was still pregnant that I didn't want to share any photos of our baby until he or she was at least three months old so s/he could be sort of cute.  Ha!  I've shared photos of our little one from the day she was born and thought she was beautiful from the moment I saw her.

Also, as promised, and largely so I'll remember it, I wanted to share my birth story.  It isn't for everyone, so don't feel obligated if you aren't interested. :-)

ha ha ha

That's nature laughing at me.  I was CERTAIN I'd have my baby early, and here I am, five days late, with absolutely no signs of labor at all.  I was told if you were working hard and on your feet all day, you would go early.  Well, I guess I wasn't working quite as hard as I thought.

They say parenting is the most humbling challenge one can undertake.  You have all of these noble and lofty ideals, and your little one, with their own personality and ideas, just laughs at you as you fumble your way through parenthood.  So, even in utero, my little one laughs at me.  To think I thought I'd be a mom by the end of April-- and now, we're approaching June.

So, we learn a little more humility and patience.  Good practice for what's to come. 

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. :-)

what a dad/son/photographer

These girls are adorable, and the story is pretty touching (from boredpanda):

If you are tired of posed, stiff and cheesy family portraits, then take a look at these incredibly creative pictures taken by Jason Lee.

Jason who is a wedding photographer started taking photos of his two little daughters back in 2006 when his mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The girls were constantly sick, with colds and coughs so he couldn’t always bring them to visit their grandmother. Jason wanted her to be able to see her granddaughters without catching their kid germs so he started a blog where his mom could see what was going on in their lives.

Most of the ideas come from his daughters – eight-year-old Kristin and five-year-old Kayla. Jason says that they are never-ending source of ideas.

Lee is a really talented photographer in his own right (you can see his photography website here), but it's really the spirit of fun and whimsy of this collection that I love.  Here are some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

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.

unexpected art (from the diverse arts project)

This is reposted from the diverse arts project, and I hope you'll enjoy it:

Part of the appeal and magic of art is that it can appear (and disappear) at any time and any place.

I was recently reminded of a documentary by Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy that I enjoyed, entitled "Rivers and Tides," and how often beauty and artwork can truly vanish in a moment. Here is the trailer:

Accompanied by sappier music (possibly from "Somewhere in Time"), here is more of his work: 

Simon Beck is creating snow shoe art near Mont Blanc in France in a similar way.  For a sense of scale, note the tiny two skiers in the top right corner:

You can read more about his work here, but the short version is that this man walks around for hours and hours (nine sounds average), creating these amazing snow "crop circles" with the knowledge that as soon as it snows again, his art will be gone.

Another heart-warming story about the unexpected outcomes of art is about Joshua Johnson, a 20-year-old man from Harlem, who has been tap dancing in New York City subways to pay for college.  You can see him in action here: 

And you can read more about him in both the New York Times and on the Good News Network site, which shares the story of how he was tap dancing to pay for his college tuition and help his mother, who lives in a shelter-- and how he ended up on the Ellen show and receiving a generous check (and a pair of fancy tap shoes).

Yay, art.  And they say art doesn't pay... :-)

5 regrets of the dying

I recently came across this post and thought it was a good reminder for those of us who still (hopefully) have a lot of life ahead of us.  This was written by an Australian caregiver named Bonnie Ware who found recurring regrets as she worked with people whose lives were coming to an end.

I hope you will find something of use to you, too.  May we all live lives without too many regrets. :-)

REGRETS OF THE DYING

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

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.

---

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?   

he opened more libraries around the world than carnegie...

You've probably never heard of John Wood, but he's doing some pretty amazing work.  Here's Nicholas Kristof's New York Times piece on his libraries around the world:

OP-ED COLUMNIST

His Libraries, 12,000 So Far, Change Lives

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: November 5, 2011

CAI LEI, Vietnam

 Peter Stuckings

Room to Read, a charity founded by John Wood, builds libraries and fills them with books. These girls in Cai Lei, Vietnam, accepted new books as if they were treasures.

Nicholas D. Kristof

ONE of the legendary triumphs of philanthropy was Andrew Carnegie’s construction of more than 2,500 libraries around the world. It’s renowned as a stimulus to learning that can never be matched — except that, numerically, it has already been surpassed several times over by an American man you’ve probably never heard of.