today i'm a yeasayer

august coppola has been on my mind. i knew nothing of him until i read his obituary yesterday, and now, i want to know more. those close to him called him a dreamer, a renaissance man, a "yeasayer." i plan to learn more about him while my daughter sleeps. for now, i like thinking about this:

In 1991, instead of leading a groundbreaking for a planned addition to San Francisco State's creative arts complex, Coppola hosted a "skybreaking" because, he said: "The idea is to look up, rather than down -- look up to the sky, the clouds, teach young people to dream."

brilliant.

observations

people stare at me now. i know, because i catch them. both men and women are transfixed by my girth. they also smile when i catch them; i like that a lot. there's something about a pregnant lady that makes people happy, and when that emotion is shared, it's a welcome surprise.

men don't give up their seats on BART unless requested directly. i haven't yet asked a man, but my friend kevin has, and they move quickly when he does it. the other day i was focused on getting a seat--any seat--fast, and when i saw a man move, i ducked, swiveled, and pivoted into the vacant seat, only to see that he was giving it up for ANOTHER pregnant lady. i couldn't believe i had stolen one of my peep's seats. even more astounding was that she registered my seniority in trimesters, nodded, and gave me the look that everything was ok.

and then a woman offered her a seat.

"Multitasking is a myth."

i've noticed over the past couple years a sharp decline in my ability to focus, especially when i'm online. i much prefer a print newspaper or a book, because within a few minutes--maybe even seconds; i should time it--i find myself thinking about moving on when i read online.

so when i started reading Ear Plugs to Lasers: The Science of Concentration, i made an effort to quell my nomadic ways.

this part grabbed me:

“Multitasking is a myth,” Ms. Gallagher said. “You cannot do two things at once. The mechanism of attention is selection: it’s either this or it’s that.” She points to calculations that the typical person’s brain can process 173 billion bits of information over the course of a lifetime.

i wish the journalist had expanded on this concept, because my ability to multi-task is both a talent and a curse, and i'd love to know more about the benefits and flaws of this approach... AND why it's a myth.

blog like it's twitter

i wish i could sleep. i know i need it. perhaps i should shut the laptop.

i don't want the new pres to "be like me"

i'm watching the debate tonight. i'm a little tense due to my bank being sold and the fate of our country in the hands of people i worry won't do the right thing.

the right thing.

people have such different ideas.

like this:

COURIC: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.

she speaks like she's using boggle to cobble together her words. geez.

note to self

i'm going to think long and hard about this:

"i am best at what i can't do.

it has become my ability to feel strong and confident in these situations. i feel free to move, to listen to my heart, to learn, to act even if that means i will make mistakes.

if you want a creative life, do what you can't and experience the beauty of the mistakes you make."

--marcel wanders, a "professional amateur," excerpted from the latest book to capture my attention.

more about that band thing

a few points of clarification:
1. the movie, dig, as an inspiration.
if you've seen it, likely you're confused. no, i'm not inspired by the drug-addled fist fights and the ego-crazed missives. the tunes and the crowd energy is what i dug. and dig.
2. rockumentaries
been watching a bunch of these of late, and loved the flaming lips entry into this category.

i've been in a rocker mode lately. that may be it. we'll see...

i wanna be in a band. hmmm.

maybe i'm just still lovin' the afterglow of dig, but i'm feelin' the fevah. i love playing in front of people... at least when i'm feelin' it. started thinking about learning a new instrument. a new friend just started violin lessons a couple months back, and another friend talked of messing around with musician friends the other night, which got me thinking. hmmm. i may ask if i can join in. or maybe i'll learn guitar. hmmm.

this is a shot of the mags on the floor by my bed. i smiled when i noticed their unintentional artful arrangement, fanned like a coffee table display. even better is the array of genres: bitch magazine, martha stewart's living, and philanthropy in the 21st century. hmmm what does that say about me? love it when my surroundings speak to me.

taking care

there's something about blue skies and the wide open ocean that offers solace and a hopeful perspective. i'm certain it has some relation to being raised in a land-locked state, and i'm certain that it really does mend my soul.

when i drove around the bend that offered the vast pacific in view, the familiar chills nabbed hold. when i wended up the rock face that defines the glorious highway one, i thought how auntie lee would've loved this view--or she would've loved hearing about it. she's only seen my hometown in pictures, and delighted in stories of the promised land that most midwesterners only visit.

nothing like a bright sunny day on a near-empty beach.

today i stared into shallow pools and watched an underwater world come to life. i also happened upon some very large harbor seals, and gained insight into their sunning and lumbering behaviors as they lurched toward the surf.

strange talk

i'm a big fan of chatting with strangers.

note to self: remember this. do it more often. it makes you happy.

the other day in dc, i sidled up to a woman walking down the street and said, "your shoes are rockin'." she beamed and thanked me. they were--her shoes were tremendously blue and sparkly. i saw the sun glinting off her toes from a distance.

in the city, i chatted with a woman who got off the train at the same stop. i asked her what language some guys sitting near us were speaking, and we laughed in recognition of our shared curiosity.

npr sound bites

i listen to public radio a lot. driveway moments where i can't pull myself away from the radio are common. today was no exception, i just wanted to record a few gems floating in my head.

--a young commentator for the youth speaks show talked about james brown and his death influencing record funk sales at amazon. he admitted this response made him hopeful that more people might appreciate and understand what funk is. he then offered that perhaps he doesn't even know what it is, really, because growing up he thought if something was funky it smelled bad.

--during a discussion of scientific funding (and the lack thereof) on science friday, someone posited that if washington d.c. were on the san andreas fault or in hurricane alley, more awareness and resources might flow to those areas, and our nation might operate a bit differently.

--in an alley of the gritty sf tenderloin district, an artist spends one day a month mending clothes people bring for free.

--and the other day i heard an excellent interview on fresh air where terri gross spoke with the lead singer of franz ferdinand on rockin', touring, and his new book--a collection of columns he wrote for the guardian about eating on the road.