I'm internetless while dog/housesitting so I figured I'd do one of these posts while I have internet access and get it all off my chest.
First up, the view from "my" office at my internship! It was really rainy yesterday and the blinds were down but here we go:
And, now on to the links....
A few links related to the Summit Series that went on in DC this past weekend(which I posted about here):
10 Big Ideas from Summit Series
DC10 Has Arrived by Sean Carasso, the founder of Falling Whistles
A few tv/movie related articles:
Where Are the Women Comedy Writers on Late-Night TV?
Geena Davis' research on women in film and television (PDF) (hint: It's not good for the ladies)
And last, but certainly not least, Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks' new show premieres tomorrow night on FOX!
Another great post from Ben Casnocha: 50 Ways to Expose Yourself to Randomness.
So, I'm watching this funny little ImprovEverywhere video and, just as I'm about to close the page, I see my cousin! I called my mom and I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy but she watched it too and said it must be her. Weird moment of the day.
From Politico:
Founder Elliott Bisnow, a 24-year-old Washington native and mastermind behind the Bisnow newsletters — which provide city-specific business news via e-mail — aims to gather some of the world’s top entrepreneurs and CEOs to, well, talk and have fun.
“The biggest difference between Summit Series and anything else — the biggest take-away,” said Bisnow, “is it’s all about friendship and fun and shared experience.” The Summit grew from a small skiing trip a couple years back, which he started simply by cold-calling up-and-coming CEOs.
“It’s all about collectivism, ‘how can I help you?’” Summit Series’ co-founder Jeff Rosenthal added.
The twice-yearly conference will draw 750 attendees and take place Thursday through Sunday at the JW Marriott. Various business leaders (and famous faces) will lead discussions on subjects ranging from relief work in Haiti to grass-roots fundraising to the power of storytelling to start-up investing. Attendees include musician John Legend, President Bill Clinton, Ted Turner, model Christy Turlington Burns, actress Kristen Bell, fashion designer Marc Ecko, the cast of MTV’s “The Buried Life" (sharing their stories at 1:30 a.m., another example of why this isn’t your typical business conference) and six NASA astronauts.
The official site
I LOVE this idea and have already been following the hastags on twitter: #summitseries and #DC10
I really enjoy listening to and learning about social entrepreneurs and this seems the perfect chance to do that. Tickets cost $3,500 and are invite only so it will be a long time before I can attend one of these events (this and TED are on my dream events list) but the idea is one I can't stop thinking about. Just today I was thinking about what a great experience How It Ends was last Summer and how much I enjoy the networking aspect of these events. I will actually be heading to Tampa after work tomorrow for the Florida Young Democrats convention and am excited to meet like minded Floridians!
Tonight I grabbed the newest issue of Folio Weekly and came across an article written by Julie Delegal so, instead of packing for this weekend's Florida Young Democrats convention, I decided to blog.
I thought Delegal's article on HB 1143 was right on and thought I would share some of it (I can't seem to find it online so I'm typing this from the May 11-17th issue of Folio Weekly).
"Crist has hundreds of thousands of reasons to veto HB 1143: hundreds of thousands of walking, breathing adult female Floridians whose party affiliations don't enter into the calculus of their private reproductive decisions. Retired columnist Ellen Goodman has written that one in three American women, between the ages of 18 and 40, have made the difficult decision to have an abortion. I'll venture to say that they didn't pull out their voter registration cards to do so, but they may need to pull them out at the polls this fall to keep their private reproductive decisions private."
"It's as if patients would have 160, mostly male, Florida lawmakers right there with them in their doctor's office, not only in the examination rooms, but in the accounting departments, too: HB 1143, if signed, would forbid companies that receive tax credits from offering employee health insurance plans that include abortion coverage."
"And if we open the door on OB/GYN visits, parity would demand we create a Viagra bill. If passed and signed by the Governor, the Viagra bill would require any man seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction to view (and pay for!) a video that follows a young sperm cell on its journey to babyhood. Conservatives love to blame the "breakdown of the traditional family" as the root of all societal evils, excepting those evils brought on by having to pay taxes, of course. But over the past few generations, we've witnessed the meteoric rise of the single-parent family. And notably, by and large, we're not talking about single father households. Women are already quite aware of the consequences of bringing children into the world, which is why they don't need to view (and pay for!) state-mandated ultrasounds to help them make their private decisions."
"But my Viagra bill would also include a stipulation analogous to the Stupak amendment to the national health care plan. Under Stupak, women who want abortion coverage as part of their medical insurance, whether subsidized by the federal government or not, must write an additional check for a separate abortion-coverage policy. Similarly, with my Viagra bill, those gentlemen who want to ensure continued function in their root delivery systems would simply write a check for the "Viagra rider." Sure, their employers would not about it. Privacy, schmivacy."
"But much like the oil spurting uncontrollably from beneath the ocean floor in the Gulf of Mexico, political pandering on reproductive issues has irretrievably polluted our process, and threatens to creep its slime more broadly, more insidiously and more damagingly than ever before....If we're going to have sensible leadership in the U.S. Senate, and if we want to keep the insidious spread of right-wing pandering out of the Governor's mansion, we'd better get cracking."
All that said, there is almost nothing that can get me to vote for Crist in November. I have emailed and called his office quite a few times regarding the bill but, at this point, what he does is totally unpredictable.
Meghan McCain and I disagree on about 99% of political issues but I have a lot of respect for her. I enjoyed reading her blog during the campaign and getting that behind the scenes perspective. I follow her on twitter and am bothered by the ridiculous attacks on her. But this column she wrote recently explains exactly why I like her so much:
Why I Hate the Politics of Hate
A few excerpts:
"Lately I’ve felt that the anger in politics is spilling over from the expected places—protests, partisan websites, talk radio—into everyday lives. The lines of social acceptability and just plain courteous behavior are becoming harder to define when it comes to politics, and for the first time in a long time I am truly concerned about where this fear and frustration in politics is taking us."
"I understand a certain amount of partisan pettiness, but what I don’t understand is why both politicians and pundits are not more vested in the next generation, in my generation, and the cultural and political climate they are leaving behind. It’s almost as if to be taken seriously in politics, a certain level of anger and incivility is required. I am not saying I am not angry about many things that are going on in this country, but I do believe we can discuss our differences with respect."
"This extremist shift is happening all over the country, and I can’t help think about the toll it is taking on the next generation of voters. For the first time in my life, I find myself disillusioned with the political process—something I always swore would never happen to me. And I am not ashamed to admit that this small feeling of disillusionment is scaring me. Because if this is how I feel from all of the rancor, I can only imagine how disconnected the rest of my generation must feel. If politicians aren’t inspiring people when they are young, what hope is there that they will care when they are older?"
Thank you Meghan McCain. Now if you could just convince your dad to change his positions on a few things....
I was just alerted (via twitter of course) of a fantastic chance to make a difference using just a few minutes of your time.
Simply go to this blog post and leave a comment answering this question: What book has had the greatest impact on your life?
For each answer (up to 1,000) a book will be donated to children without easy access to books. If you have a blog, blog about the contest and post a link and another book will be donated!
I'm a reader and reading has been a major part of my life for a long time so I love this idea.
PS-I picked "Charlotte's Web" as the book with the greatest impact on my life. It was the first book (well, real chapter book at least) I read all by myself!
I finished reading "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Sarah, Michelle, Hillary, and the Shaping of the New American Woman" today. I wrote a short review on GoodReads here.
This is pretty cool. These language courses were developed by the United States government and are now in the public domain. Great resource.
The First Lady's first tweet (via Ed Henry)
As always, my imaginary boyfriend Nick Kristof hits it out of the park again.
As I’ve noted before, there seem to be two Catholic Churches, the old boys’ club of the Vatican and the grass-roots network of humble priests, nuns and laity in places like Sudan. The Vatican certainly supports many charitable efforts, and some bishops and cardinals are exemplary, but overwhelmingly it’s at the grass roots that I find the great soul of the Catholic Church.
Transcript of Obama’s Remarks at U. Mich. Commencement
Another great speech from POTUS and Jon Favreau. My favorite parts:
The fact is, when you leave here today you will search for work in an economy that is still emerging from the worst crisis since the Great Depression. You live in a century where the speed with which jobs and industries move across the globe is forcing America to compete like never before. You will raise your children at a time when threats like terrorism and climate change aren’t confined within the borders of any one country. And as our world grows smaller and more connected, you will live and work with more people who don’t look like you or think like you or come from where you do.
On the fourth panel of the Jefferson Memorial is a quote I remember reading to my daughters during our first visit there. It says, “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but…with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.
When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us. We, the people — (applause.) We, the people, hold in our hands the power to choose our leaders and change our laws, and shape our own destiny.
Government is the police officers who are protecting our communities, and the servicemen and women who are defending us abroad. (Applause.) Government is the roads you drove in on and the speed limits that kept you safe. Government is what ensures that mines adhere to safety standards and that oil spills are cleaned up by the companies that caused them. (Applause.) Government is this extraordinary public university -– a place that’s doing lifesaving research, and catalyzing economic growth, and graduating students who will change the world around them in ways big and small. (Applause.)
...government shouldn’t try to dictate your lives. But it should give you the tools you need to succeed. Government shouldn’t try to guarantee results, but it should guarantee a shot at opportunity for every American who’s willing to work hard. (Applause.)
Don’t narrow that broad intellectual exposure just because you’re leaving here. Instead, seek to expand it. If you grew up in a big city, spend some time with somebody who grew up in a rural town. If you find yourself only hanging around with people of your own race or ethnicity or religion, include people in your circle who have different backgrounds and life experiences. You’ll learn what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, and in the process, you will help to make this democracy work. (Applause.)
Here’s the point. When we don’t pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that’s when democracy breaks down. That’s when power is abused. That’s when the most extreme voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That’s when powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and influence in the corridors of power –- because none of us are there to speak up and stop them.
What is certain -– what has always been certain -– is the ability to shape that destiny. That is what makes us different. That is what sets us apart. That is what makes us Americans -– our ability at the end of the day to look past all of our differences and all of our disagreements and still forge a common future. That task is now in your hands, as is the answer to the question posed at this university half a century ago about whether a free society can still compete.
