• Bella
• Sweet Land
• Jean de Florette
• I’ve Loved You So Long
• Amazing Grace
• Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
• turtles can fly
• A River Runs Through It
• What About Bob?
• God Grew Tired of Us
• Kinamand
• Random Harvest
• Crossing Delancey
• Miss Potter
• Lawrence of Arabia
• Ballad of a Soldier
• Educating Rita
• To be and to have
• Ladri di biciclette
• Italianetz
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Departures
• Chocolat
• The Story of the Weeping Camel
• Séraphine
• Big Fish
• Lilies of the Field
• Elmer Gantry
• The Quiet Man
• Inception
• Ray
• You Can’t Take It with You
• Not one less
• Metropolis (2001)
• Waking Life
• Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
• The Visitor
• The Chosen
• Daniel Deronda
• Ponette
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Waitress
• Ce que mes yeux ont vu
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Roman Holiday
• Song of Sparrows
• Peaceful Warrior
• John Adams
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
• 84 Charring Cross Road
• Penny Serenade
• Dear Frankie
• The Tammy Movies
• Polar Express
• An Angel for May
• A Beautiful Mind
• The Moon and the Son (2005)
• The Princess Bride
• Man on Wire
• Walk the Line
• Waking Ned Divine
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Orfeu Negro
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Toy Story
• Babette’s Feast
• On A Clear Day
• Forrest Gump
• The Neverending Story
• Empire of the Sun
• Awakenings
• A Bug’s Life
• What’s Up Doc?
• Pane e tulipani
• Who am I this time?
• 500 Days of Summer
• Shadowlands
• Chariots of Fire
• Molière
• Wings of Desire
• Is Anybody There?
• Driving Miss Daisy
• Le papillon
• The Mission
• 12 Angry Men
• For Whom The Bell Tolls
• La vita e bella
• A Star is Born (1954)
• Pete’s Dragon
• Avalon (1990)
• La vie en rose
• Edward Scissorshands
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Enchanted April
• Some Kind of Wonderful
• My Life
• The Kid
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Say Anything
• Citizen Kane
• It’s a Wonderful Life
• E.T.
• Singin’ in the Rain
• Afterlife (1998)
• Say Anything…
• The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
• Pride and Prejudice
• Becoming Jane
• A Room with a View
• Somewhere in Time
• The Namesake
• Once
• Young Frankenstein
• North & South
• The Scarlet Pimpernel
• Remains of the Day
• Songcatcher
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Sense & Sensibility
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Never Cry Wolf
• The Year My Parents Went On Vacation
• Up!
• Wallace & Gromit
• Chicken Little
• Places in the Heart
• Winnie the Pooh
• Charlotte’s Web
• Ratatouille
• The Man of Snowy River
• The Boy Who Could Fly
• The Sandlot
• Serenity
• You’ve Got Mail
• Sleepless in Seattle
• Jaws
• Danzak’
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• The Journey of Natty Gann
• Into The Woods
• The Secret Garden
• Annie
• Casablanca
• An American Tail
• Tuck Everlasting
• The Muppets Take Manhatten
• Winged Migration
• March of the Penguins
• Paper Moon

1. Eat good food. I really like the guides laid out in the Fat Flush books and the products sold at UNIKEY. Mercola.com has some great products and information too. I try my best to eat whole foods that bring vibrant, raw nutrients into my body. And I’m a stickler for clean water. [p.s. This book will help you shift your relationship with food if it's being used as a substitute for other unmet needs.]

2. Sleep. I need nine hours to process everything that happens to me in a day. And to process all the processing I did in a day. I know. It’s a lot of time but I feel great when I give it to myself.

3. Hot baths and clean sheets. I give myself the joy of a hot bath around 5 times per week. Excessive? I think not.

4. Write. Three pages (8 1/2 x 11) of freewriting every morning (“Morning Pages” in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way). When I wake up, I have all this stuff spinning around in my brain. Get a notebook like this one or this one and write three pages of blah, blah, blah, nothing, whining, happy, blissful, possibilities, shallow-ness. Get it all out. Then you can talk to God with a clear head. And only then you can interact with God’s children. This is different than writing in my journal, which I consider more of a conscious act. These pages are meant to be messy and only I will ever read them. I use them to acknowledge myself and my own experiences and feelings, as they are and not as they “should” be. When it’s time, I will burn them (after taking note of any of the good ideas that might have trickled down in there).

5. Prayer, meditation, slow breathing, peaceful music. Though again, I’m not really in the mood until I’ve written my peace in the Morning Pages. Some people dig yoga for this.

6. Scriptures. Read whatever holy writing you believe represents truth and light. Feed it to yourself. Even just opening the books help. Have them close to you. I read these.

7. Slow walks. Brisk walks. Speed walks. Thoughtful walks. Just walk. At least 20 minutes of every day that I can fit it in. Bike rides are a bonus. Walks are essential. Even better if you break a gentle sweat. This helps the body detox. Also, I recently discovered and am having a blast with T-Tapp!

8. Create and Play. Write a song. Learn how to sing! Paint a picture. Write a thoughtful entry in my journal. Write a book. Write a screenplay. Contemplate something. Draw something. Hang up something. Take a picture. Care for plants. Work in a garden. Doodle something. Clean up something. All activities that help me learn and express myself better.

9. Work with my energy systems. All of the activities on this list actually help clean up your energy without you knowing it, but there are also ways of more directly cleaning up the energy that flows through your physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental bodies. My favorite guides in this respect: Louise Hay (for positive language), Donna Eden (for balancing hormones), therapeutic gemstones (for cleaning up unhealthy patterns), Carol Tuttle (for my spiritual journey, turning on chakras, human experience, and adorning the feminine expression). Regular massages and healthy monogamous sex are excellent for this as well.

10. Explore and learn something new. Go places you haven’t gone before. Watch good movies, talks, or documentaries. Read good books, explore new neighborhoods and parks, countries. Learn about your ancestors. Visit a bookstore or library. Create lots of small adventures for yourself and throw in a big one when you can.

I’d love to hear what my friends and readers would add to this list!

p.s. CoveritLive stream for Wednesday’s event here (12PM CST).

Where to involve myself? That is the question for tonight AND for the next twelve months. 2009 was a great year of finishes for me: the translation certificate at the University of Chicago Graham School [check]. The thesis about Julián Aguirre to complete my MA in Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago [check]. A move to a new job at Illinois Wesleyan University in Normal, IL [check]. A new home and community of friends in central Illinois [check].

Now what? It’s time to think about what new goals to set for myself and where I’ll be heading next. There are a lot of options and for that I am grateful.

I am grateful to live in a country that still, in spite of human weakness, provides me with opportunities to develop myself and make a difference. I am thankful for the seen and unseen hands that have supported me when I’ve needed it. I am extremely thankful for my large family—so many personalities and challenges enrich my life and make it interesting. And I am thankful for my connection to God. His hand is and has been over me this year, guiding me step by step to the people and circumstances that I need for my own growth. I am glad and grateful for all of these things.

If I can just survive Travis’s 250 foot jump, ten more Nerf darts, and the final kiss in North & South, 2010 will be off to a great start.

My best wishes to everyone for a WONDERFUL new year!

Dressing Your Truth™

Over the past summer, I have been reading and studying a new system of self care that I like better each and every day that I use it. It’s called Dressing Your Truth™ and I think it has something to offer every woman.

I’ve always taken a very practical and low-key approach to my clothing and makeup, mostly because it was so hard to find things that I felt really great in. “Whatever,” I’d say to myself, “it’s just my clothes. People will have to look beyond my outer experience to get the real me.”

But with this system of Dressing Your Truth™, I’ve learned a profound truth: people see the real me much, much better when I am presenting them with a consistent message about who that is. That’s what DYT is all about. It’s about aligning your outer appearance with your inner experience. And it feels so good.

The results after just a few months of moving myself in this direction have been remarkable. I don’t have to explain myself to people. I can relax and feel understood. People respect me. I am much more comfortable in my clothes. I know EXACTLY what type of apparel to attract into my life. No more guesswork when I’m shopping. And most exciting and unusual of all, I’m actually enjoying putting myself together in the morning! Instead of viewing dressing as a kind of barrier between me and my goals for the day, Dressing Your Truth™ feels more like I am honoring all that is most beautiful and good about me. I’m setting the stage so that I can be truly available for the people in my life.

I would highly recommend this to any woman. Think of both Energy Profiling and Dressing Your Truth™ as a special gift to yourself. Show that gentle kindness toward your body, mind, and spirit that you deserve by dressing it in the textures, colors, design lines, fabrication, and patterns that honor the real you.

Check it out! Visit Dressing Your Truth™ to discover what your dominant energy is and then watch the three hour training module for that type. You will be thrilled with the results!

You can read more about Energy Profiling in Carol Tuttle’s book, It’s Just My Nature!

Yes, I’m a sappy sister. Yes, yes, yes. Kisses to California and Utah.

There are so many ways to say I love you.
so many ways to say I care.
With lunches, and bunches of roses on tables,
adventures in learning, the moments we shared.

Mornings unending, garage needs a cleaning,
the weeds need a picking, and my room does too.
A smile as sweet as chocolate in blenders
The wonders of blenders and motherly brews.

I love you. I love you. I do.

Floating like falling
Never if the water holds you up
Falling like floating
Didn’t think I’d have to drink this cup

Still the wind blows
Still the wind blows further
Still the wind blows.

Daughters never falter
Never when the water holds them up
Floating like flying
Winds that only carry me up

Never if the water holds you up
Falling like floating
Didn’t think I’d have to drink this cup
Still the wind blows
Still the wind blows

Thank goodness that I’ve been safe commuting back and forth to work on my bike each day. I’m so glad that I’m warm and protected from the cold. I had a great year at work. We accomplished a lot. I love the students and teachers I am privileged to work with at Lab. They are amazingly talented, generous, and good people that make my job easy and fun. I am glad to finally have a home “boffice” (bedroom+office) where I can access all my paper and things so easily. I am so grateful that my family has successfully made the transition to Logan, UT and that my three youngest brothers especially have been so courageous about the whole thing. I’m grateful for friends that support me, if even from a distance. I feel like I have sister- and brother-hearts all over the world, seen and unseen, that, in some small way, beat for me and send me good feeling. I’m grateful for heavenly guidance and protection and inspiration to help me on my way. I’m grateful for people here in Chicago that have looked out for me in small and meaningful ways. I’m grateful for children, their pure spirits and intent, which put me right back in my place when I need it. I’m grateful for Facebook =) for reminding me this year that we are all connected and directed to each other’s lives for a reason. I’m grateful for and humbled by the freedoms that I enjoy in this country to pursue my dreams, to set goals, to make something out of myself, maybe in a bumbling-not-so-elegant-sort-of-way, but still, I get to try.

2008 has been a good year. And 2009 is going to be so much better! Wishing all of my friends, contacts, and all of those faces that I encounter in my daily path a wonderful new year.

My sister Jennifer started this process last year as part of an assignment she did for school. The following is her description of the Weiss line.

The Weiss’ came from a small southwest part of Russia in modern-day Belarus. Although there are many speculations, it is unclear how the German name of Weiss befell these Russians. This part of Russia was constantly being conquered and re-conquered by the neighboring Germans, Russians and Poles and the frequent change of rule left the people in a shifting, unsettled lifestyle. Max Weiss was born 5 June 1868 in Yanev, Russia. He married Anna Wahrhaftig in 1891 and had two children. They were devout Jews and Anna particularly loved the synagogue and went often to worship. In 1896 Max decided to seek a better life for his family and left his two children and pregnant wife to sail for the Americas. He lived in New York for a year before moving to Utah among the friendly “Mormons” to seek refuge from antisemitism. He continued to save money for six years before sending for his family. When they arrived in Salt Lake it was the first time he had see his seven year-old-son, Simon Solomon Weiss.

They lived in Roosevelt, Utah for some time where Simon became a successful trapper. However, Anna could not stand the country and wanted to be closer to the synagogue. She demanded Max build her a house in the city. He agreed, building her a house downtown Salt Lake City close to the synagogue. After only a short while in the city Max moved back out to Roosevelt with three of their four sons. Simon, who was quite the “mother’s boy,” stayed in the city with Anna. It was there that Simon met and married Clarissa Dean Chase.

Living in a largely Mormon community, the Weiss’ struggled to maintain their Jewish heritage. While Max seemed to adapt to his new surroundings, Anna refused to changed and strove to preserve her Russian roots. She never really came to love America. Their religious roots began to defuse when Max and Anna’s oldest son, Abraham, married into the Young family. Then Simon and Clarissa married. Clarissa was a devout Mormon and Simon had been raised by his devout Jewish mother. As a result, their three children, including my grandfather David Simon Chase Weiss, grew up in a mixed Mormon and Jewish home. David was baptized a Mormon when he was 14 but I am not sure he ever really understood what it meant to be a member of the Latter-Day Saint (LDS) church. David Simon married Marrilyn Ballegooie 12 January 1951 and had five children, my father David Mark Weiss being the oldest.

My father remembers his father, David Simon, practicing some Jewish traditions in the home in an effort to maintain their heritage but nothing really stuck. After marrying into the Weiss family, my mother began to search out our roots and understand the Weiss heritage. We even participated in a few Passover Seder meals and lit the menorah in our home in an effort to remember our past. Grandpa David Simon was completely homogenized into American culture by then and was shocked and please to find we were trying to appreciate our ancestral roots.

My grandfather, David Simon Chase was the second of Simon and Clarissa’s three children. Their youngest, Max Leslie Chase Weiss, was the first to get a college education. Since then education has become an important value of the Weiss family.

1. Grate half a zucchini using cheese grater and add pancake mix first, before adding water (the zucchini has a lot of moisture already, so you might not need much water at all).
2. Spread batter over bottom of the pan with heated coconut oil and cook on medium-high. Flip and press down slightly on pancake to cook evenly.
3. Use Trader Joe’s creamy tomato soup to compliment.
4. If your first batch is too watery, don’t worry. Put it in the oven at 325 and cook as if they were muffins.5. Zucchini is good for you and it’s worth the wait if you have to bake. Serve with butter, if you want. I thought they tasted great without.

Watch out Rachael Ray, here I come!

As far as 2007 goes, I’d have to say I’m fairly relieved it’s over. 2007 was a year of transition and personal reinvention. 2008 will be a year of closure, I’ve decided (i.e. Graduation!!!). And 2009 I’m hoping will be a big creative something… creating something(s).

Let’s see, this past year, I finished up my 18-month tenure at the Chicago GSB Computing Services department at the end of June and walked across the street to start a new job as World Language Lab Coordinator at the Lab Schools on the first day of July. Six months later, I am still incredibly happy with my colleagues, the beautiful lab I maintain, and the big questions I get to ponder on a daily basis… questions like, “What motivates us to learn? Where does technology fit into learning? How is learning defined in the Independent School setting today and how might I redefine it, if I had the chance?” It’s all very heady, but at the same time down-and-dirty practical, since I’ve got 21 World Language teachers to remind me what is real. I regularly try new things and then wait to see what, if anything, happens… ends up being kind of like my own little lab environment and a lot of fun.

I took two translation classes at the University of Chicago Graham School this fall (Spanish>English) and learned about the industry and the skills necessary to drive a translation business. It is definitely not time to launch a translation business, but I’m glad I took the time to explore it and get a sense for what it would take to become marketable.

In September, I traveled with my parents to pick up my brother Jon up from his mission in Germany and in early November, we saw Sam off to Cuiabá, Brazil. My two sisters, Christine and Jennifer, are graduating from BYU this spring, one with a Masters in Public Health and another with a BA in Family Therapy. Christine is headed to El Salvador this summer to work with a non-profit. Jennifer and Deborah are applying to study abroad in Jerusalem. We welcomed a new nephew, Lil’ David, into the world three months ago and have another on his way to Tam and Jeff this coming April. David and Launna are moving this week to Idaho to finish his degree. The three youngest boys, Ben, Will, Joe, are all doing great, finishing Eagle projects, getting their licenses to drive, playing hard.

My “best” cousin, Shannon, married a wonderful man and moved to Santiago, Chile early this year. She just had her first baby, Lucas, and the whole family is doing great. Her husband took her to Viña del Mar this past weekend for their first surfing trip in six months. Mom totally deserves it!! I’m slightly jealous, actually, since the snow in Chicago is loosing it’s charm and I’m already dreaming of Spring.

I spent more time this year getting to know neighbors, fellow church members, roommates, and old friends, a nice change of pace from my usual nose-to-the-grindstone approach to life. Our little “Hobbit Hole” has turned into something of a social center and I’ve enjoyed some fun moments singing, playing, laughing, and cooking.

I’ve been attracting a lot of operas into my life lately. It’s made me so grateful to live so close to the Lyric. One of the big pluses of living where I do, just 15 minutes from the center of town. This fall, I’ve enjoyed Julius Ceasar, Die Frau ohne Schatten, and La bohème. Looking forward to seeing Dr. Atomic in the next few weeks.

I’ve made slow but steady progress on my MA thesis, especially since November, when I was blessed with a separate office space where I can finally contain all the craziness—away from my home. That simple adjustment has made a *huge* difference in the quality of my life. Here’s my working abstract, sure to change substantially in the next few weeks:

We assign a value to any particular cultural product equal to the perceived cost of the social problem it is trying to solve. So while we might hypothesize that the social “problem of problems” is how to go about accruing influence, identity, and status in our lives relative to those that surround us, the exact nature of this quest can change in surprising and dramatic ways. Indeed, it always does, according to Malcom Gladwell in his book, “The Tipping Point.” And when it does, he argues, it is due to three variables: first, the overall context for the cultural product and the corresponding problem it attempts to define and solve; second, the exceptional and overtly social people–evangelists might be the word–who appear to have solved the problem and are “carrying” the product; and third, the particular environment in which the cultural product is circulated. When one or more of these variables reach a critical point of influence, the cost of the problem and the value of social products that purport to solve it rise dramatically. The “problem of problems” is dressed up in yet another costume and demand for the product as obvious solution skyrockets. A cultural market is born.

This is a particularly useful way of viewing national identity, because it suggests that only certain socio-historical contexts combined with certain people with social capital combined with certain local environments were capable of producing a demand for and supply of national cultural products.

This paper briefly covers the context of nationalism in Argentina, highlights the exceptional people who “carried” these national cultural products, and attempts to characterize the environments in which they were carried. I argue how certain images, elements of story, and the subjective authority of poetic voice were critical to the production and consumption of nation products. In particular, I show how the songs of Julián Aguirre, some of the first national musical products to circulate amongst the Argentine elite, might have contributed to the final small push that was necessary to create a “Tipping Point” in Argentine cultural history, sparking a brief, though vibrant, period of musical nationalism.

Other then that, I’m still volunteering to help improve music instruction for the children at church, giving myself the time I need to exercise (one of my big goals for 2008), reading, and picking away at the huge project that is laasa.org. I just started developing a ning network for LAASA members that should be really helpful in leveraging the power of the group, even though I know we all have limited time. mindjerky.com is also moving along and getting good exposure online. I take clients here and there, as they come.

All in all, 2007 has been a good round, a fine catch of 365 days to be fondly remembered and then forgotten, as 2008 takes its place at the center stage of my mind. I want to thank all of the good friends out there that have remembered me in the course of their busy lives. I have received multiple unexpected phone calls, cards, gifts, letters, and emails and I appreciate them all so much. Thank you, thank you.

Here’s to a great 2008 and your first batch of Zucchini Pancakes!