31 Days, 31 Pictures

I actually did it.  I took 31 pictures in 31 days and didn't forget even once. #photoadayaugust starts tomorrow and I'm super excited.  Let's see if I can carry this out as long as possible.  It's way more fun than I thought it was going to be : )

So without further ado, here's July 2012 in a nutshell.

Sweet on Sorkin

I have always been a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin.  In high school and college, I adored the West Wing...even though I could only truly "get" about half of what was said.  His writing is so smart and so quick, that you (maybe just I) have to pay super-close attention or you'll (maybe just I'll) miss the whole point. SportsNight was good but I'd probably enjoy it more now.  And Studio 60 was high on my list of favorites for reasons other than plot...I kinda love Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford.

So imagiine my excitement when I heard that he was writing a new show for HBO: The Newsroom.  What I love about Sorkin and what most people find off-putting is that he's an eternal optimist, extremely intelligent and an uber-liberal. What is to most people, him being "elitist" is to me, a beautiful view of what the world could be.   The first episode had all the qualities of Sorkin that I love, but for once it was almost too much.  The episode was over-the top idealistic.  Jeff Daniels is brilliant as Will McAvoy and can easily pull off the Sorkin banter as well as the wordy diatribes he's so fond of.  But I wasn't sure how "exciting" a newroom could be week after week and I definitely wasn't sure of the people surrounding Will McAvoy.  Big names but not the greatest characters. 

Cut to 6 weeks in and I'm happy to say I was utterly and completely wrong.  The show has finally hit its stride and it's riveting television!  Sure, Sorkin reuses a lot of what he's written before (see the Sorkin video I posted a few weeks back) and I've already found at least 2 plot devices that were used in the West Wing.  But...if it's not broke, why fix it?  Jeff Daniels continues to astound me week after week.  He's truly an amazing actor  and I'm constantly wondering why I haven't noticed that before.  The other characters are finally coming together as well.  The classic Sorkin humor, word play and heart is all there.  Even the concept of the newsroom is being kept exciting by focusing on the biggest stories from the last 2 years.  I'm super happy with the direction this show is going in, and I'm so glad that I decided to stick with it. 

So what if he's idealistic, at least he's writing a story with an actual plot, and  actual characters with actual brains. He's a very bright spot in a sea of utterly trashy reality shows and competitions. 

So, I guess you could say, I'm a fan.

A pretty fantastic opening, and a classic Sorkin speech all rolled into one. (And all in all, fairly true...) PS: Language is a little strong so beware.

App-y Goodness

I've said numerous times that I LOVE technology!  I usually go on binges with apps though. Sometimes, I can find tons that I just have to have and other times I'm content to use the ones I already have.  This week, I've found quite a few that are just about perfect.

1. 2012 London Olympics: NBC has outdone themselves with this free app.  There's video, stories, medal counts and more.  It's everything you need and want to know about Team USA.  If you download the extra Live app, you can watch footage that isn't being seen in prime time.  The only thing I'd warn is to be careful if you are trying to avoid spoilers.  I made the mistake earlier of checking in and seeing the end of a race that I wanted to watch in primetime this evening.  Oops!

2.  HeadSpace: As I wrote, a few days ago, I'm trying to give the meditiation thing the old college try.  3 days in, and it's going pretty well, thanks to this app.  It's free (which I love!) and simple to use.  They provide you with progress tracking, the science behind it and cutesy animations.  What's not to love?!

3.  Pinterest: It's official, I'm a Pinterest addict.  The app is streamlined and works just as well as the website does.  My only complaint on this one is that they don't have an iPad app.  Perusing all the fun and crafty things on a 5 inch screen is slightly disappointing.

Be sure to check them all out if you're looking for a good waste of time.  Enjoy!

Olympic Love

I've seen lots of reviews about the last night's Opening Ceremonies.  From what I can tell, not many people enjoyed it.  In my opinion, (which is probably biased, since I LOVE the Olympics!) the ceremonies were positively outstanding and absolutely London.  Opening Ceremonies, since the beginning of their time, have always been long and philosophical and over the top.  If you go in knowing that, you'll have a great experience.

That being said, Beijing's in 2008 were not my favorite.  They were HUGE and over the top but they were almost too spectacular.  They seemed to spend too much money, make it too "out there" and too much about China, not enough about the world athletic community.  In my opinion at least.  London's on the other hand, were huge but really tried to make it about the bigger picture which is what the Olympics are really about.  They are to bring the world together for a few weeks every few years to celebrate the best of the best and athletics in general.  And London seemed to do just that.

The movie shot by Danny Boyle that opened the show, set the tone.  It was artsy, creative and fun.  Then, came the performance led by Kenneth Branagh, of England moving from puritan to industrial times.  It added the Wow factor, that all opening ceremonies must have.  I adored the ode to GOSH and J.M Barrie.  The children and doctors & nurses seemed to be having a blast.  And Voldemort, Cruella and Hook battling Mary Poppins?  That was just icing on the cake! 

The neatest part for me was that England was able to show their sense of humor without going over the top.  The performance of "Chariots of Fire" with Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) on the organ was priceless.  Atkinson is one of their most cherished comedians, and having him involved seemed like a great aside to England as a whole.  They then moved on to an even bigger and sweeter musical spectacular capped off by everyone's favorite Beatle: Sir Paul.

From beginning to end, I thought it was positively perfect for London.  You could tell all you need to know about the British from the choices that were made in the ceremonies.  They chose to go smaller rather than grander than Beijing.  They knew they couldn't out do China, so they went for more quality rather than quantity.  They do cheeky humor and fantastic literature really well. Lastly, they've produced some of the world's most famous musicians and music.  They showcased the best of what England had to offer dazzling millions in the process.  And afterall, isn't that what the Olympics are all about?

Friday Five

1. The Olympics: I'm so excited I can almost hear the bugle playing the Olympic song! Go Michael Phelps (a Maryland boy, don't you know?!) USA! USA! USA!

2. BookRiot: Thanks to Pinterest I found this site.  It's the perfect site for all things book and book lovers.  I predict that I will waste loads and loads of time browsing this site.  I've already been informed by the 2 30 things to read before you're 30 lists, that I've only read 8 of these books.  Therefore I have 9 months to read 52 books...I need to get on the ball!  I also found this, which is just the cutest.

3. Internet History, Technology and Security Class:  This is the free course I'm taking through Coursera.  So far I kinda love it.  The professor seems to be a great teacher and cool guy.  He also seems to be the perfect teacher for a course like this.  He's totally invested in making Coursera something viable in education world.  As an ISD geek, it's pretty awesome!

4. Opening Ceremonies: Since it's taken me sooo long to write this post, the Olympic Opening Ceremonies have now started.  And so far they're awesome!  I love England!

5. The very fact that it's Friday.  You've heard me mope all week and most of the moping had to do with job stuff.  Now that it's Friday, I can relax!  

Ohm...

I don't usually buy into the new age-y, touchy-feely stuff.  But after the crummy week I've had, and since my goal for this blog was to try something new, I thought I'd give it a shot.  Thanks to a clever article in the paper, I realized, there's an app for that!  So I downloaded the "Headspace to go" app and decided to wing it.  According to the article, and the handy-dandy intro video starring the company's president, there are 10 easy 10 minute guided meditations and you are supposed to complete 1 a day, focusing on certain aspects each day.

Now, I've tried meditation before.  In a class in high school, we were guided through one.  I really didn't see the point and I wasn't so much relaxed, as I was sleepy.  So I pretty much knew what to expect and it was as expected.  I layed there, I breathed, I relaxed...I almost fell asleep.  But my brain did slow down a bit.  If nothing else, I stopped thinking about everything and focused, so I'd say that was an accomplishment.  We'll see how it goes for the next 9 days.  Maybe, in 9 days time, I'll be calm, centered and the very picture of elightenment...OR I'll be asleep.

Sunnier Days

After last night's mope fest, I'm starting to get back in the groove a bit.  I still haven't really gotten over the grumps, but an evening with some great girlfriends, Chinese food, and Ice Cream have started to clear some of the fog.  Everything else seems to be going well.  The class I'm taking (Internet History and Security) is totally nerdy and totally interesting  I even got a 100 on the first quiz.  The weather here has been beautiful.  And it's already Wednesday night (3 down, 2 to go!). 

It's just this darn nagging job situation (and lack of a significant other: but I can only deal with 1 major life issue at a time).  If I could figure this all out, I'd be A-OK.  Instead, I melt down every few weeks which solves nothing.  Isn't there a fairy job-mother out there that can help?  It really doesn't have to be an amazing job, just the perfect one...