• 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).

This afternoon, I was talking with one of my sisters who has struggled to feel loved in our family. It’s not that anything was wrong with her or with my family; it was just that the way that love was/is generally expressed didn’t/doesn’t translate to feeling loved for her. I think all of us can relate to this scenario on some level.

As we were talking, we discovered five strategies that we can use to receive a greater amount of love in our lives.

1. Learn to love yourself. No matter what.
Whenever you are caught in an uncomfortable situation of any kind, immediately reaffirm to yourself how much you appreciate yourself for being alive and learning what you came here to learn. Life learning is messy. Love yourself anyway.

2. Learn to receive the gifts of others in the spirit of love.
Assume that people around you love you.
Whatever people do to you, around you, or say to your face, consider how it might be an expression of their love for you. This may open your eyes to other ways of expressing love that are not natural for you. For example, some people show their love by making you laugh; others by making you comfortable; others by helping you do something or improve how you do something; and others by helping you make something better. Rejoice in the gifts that others are giving. Feel gratitude for them and show your gratitude by joyfully receiving their gifts. As a modern-day apostle has reminded us, we should “assume the good and doubt the bad” when it comes to our relationships with others.

3. Love others in a way that makes sense to them.
What goes around, comes around. We all know that. But sometimes we have to be the ones to express love in a way that is not natural to us. Reach others with a love language that they understand, even if it’s not as self-gratifying. Many people have read The Five Love Languages. Practice different ways of communicating Words of Affirmation, spending Quality Time, Giving Gifts, performing Acts of Service, and extending loving Physical Touch until you find ways that really send the message, “I love you.”

4. Help others to understand what speaks love to you.
When others give you love in a way that really makes sense to you, tell them. Let them know with words that you appreciate their trying their best to communicate love to you. Also, make opportunities to share with your friends and family what love looks like to you.

5. Attract more people who speak your language.
Not everyone can meet your needs. Attract people into your life who can effortlessly give you what you need to thrive. That is a win-win situation that can shore you up, even when life is at its craziest. Remember that those who are close to you cannot fulfill 100% of your physical, emotional, or spiritual needs. Reach out to create a strong network of support (big or small) that will be meaningful to you. Choose to be around people who see the best in you, who encourage you, and accept you just the way you are.

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!

Good enough is my new mantra and I’m even asking people to tell it to my face. Hey you! Tell me that what I have done here is “good enough.” Hey you! Tell me that *I* am good enough. Might sound silly to those of you who don’t have this issue, but for my fellow Type 4s out there – you know who you are (you edit the cereal box) – let’s celebrate this week by declaring:

We’re not perfect. But we are more than good enough.

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!

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.

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!

A few things to think about:

1. Most of the clips are from Moondog rounds (one melody repeated at different intervals by different voices and instruments)
2. The percussion you hear (distorted though it might be) is all created by one man (Stefan Lakatos) on one single instrument (the trimba)
3. Moondog wrote light-hearted, nonsensical poems for his madrigals. Two of the madrigals I caught here were composed by young composers who were inspired by Moondog’s style.
4. At the end of the clips, I added a blurry photo of a sheet of couplets he sold to Robert Scotto on the corner of 54th & 6th Avenue for 10 cents.

“Wine Woman and Song”
by Moondog
Wine, woman and song are too,
too much for me.
I am contented with the latter two,
for women and my song are simply wine enough, you see.

“Draw Now, Ella” (A Palindrome)
by Marjorie Gere
Draw now, Ella.
Two Heras play.
Alps are how tall?
Ew. Onward.

“My Tiny Butterfly”
My tiny butterfly butters my bread;
My briney flutterby keeps me well fed.
Why should I mutter?

“You’re Makin’ Me So Hot”
by Jacob Barton
Would you please kindly stop? It hurts!
You’re making me so hot.
You’re burning off my legs.
Would you possibly know how that feels?
Show the least bit of empathy and
put down the magnifying glass, lest I fry!

This festival will also be the first of many great things to come from her newest non-profit, eupraxia, a collective of artists with a cause who are working together to generate the funding they need to change the world.

I heart you, Robin Boomer. And all you artistic social entrepreneurs out there. I heart you.