Post Birthday Ramble

Too many causes out there I'm concerned about. If only I were a billionaire.

* * *

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
-- Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad
(Jayne & Stefan are oh-so-itchy for some travel for fun instead of business!!!)

* * *
Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who defied the Nazis to hide Anne Frank and her family for two years & saved Anne Frank's diary, died today. She was 100. She is survived by her son and three grandchildren and an incredible legacy. Miep Gies has been my hero since I played her in The Diary of Anne Frank 27 years ago. Would I be as brave and strong as Miep Gies if faced with the same situation? Would I be willing to risk my life in that way? Would you?

* * *
When disaster strikes, thousands of citizens in the USA start contacting various organizations & individuals (including me) in an effort to try to volunteer onsite at the disaster site, or they want to collect clothes, food & other materials to send. My recent professional blog details why this is NOT APPROPRIATE for Haiti and other crisis situations, why cash donations are what's needed most, how you can really help in crisis situations, and how you can get training NOW to respond to future disasters. Kudos to everyone who has donated to MercyCorps & Red Cross, BTW! Donations really do help, not just short-term, but long-term.

I still haven't found a list of casualties from the UN building collapse. I had a few friends there five years ago, but I'm not sure who was there now.

* * *
Guess how much I hate Pat Robertson? Oh, come on, guess... My Christian friends now know how my Muslim friends feel every time Osama Bin Wacko opens his mouth. There's no more room on this poster for his nonsense and hatred. Jesus wept.

* * *
Mel Gibson apparently feels the need to avenge my grandmother in his latest movie, "Edge of Darkness." Because the movie trailer keeps coming on and saying that he's fighting to find out what happened to "Emma Craven." Someone tell him she has an "s" on the end of her name, and that, really, she's fine?

Mel Gibson frightens me 90% of the time, but sometimes he does, indeed, make me laugh.

* * *
So, I'm 44 now. And as most of you know, my birthday was spent watching most of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 (for probably the 10th time in my life) while Albi laid in a drug-induced stupor nearby, recovering from her sudden and very painful surgery. Buy a much-needed used car, take two online classes in social and health marketing at John Hopkins University to increase the kinds of jobs I can apply for, or get surgery for my 13 year old dog? Guess which I chose... Her surgery was Wednesday night, and as of Saturday, she's done really well. The drugs help keep her calm and sleepy and not as interested in licking herself as I feared, though as she recovers, that will become a greater struggle.

The Joss Whedon fest continued the day after my birthday with a birthday present to myself, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starring, among others, Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. I was one of the geeky folks who got to see it when it was available oh-so-briefly free online, thanks the Internet Movie Database (my favorite web site ever), and decided I wanted to own the official DVD for all the glorious extras. It's awesome. The ending gets me every time. Have I mentioned I'm a nerd? I've been a Nathan Fillion fan since Firefly, but I have to say, Dr. Horrible turned me into a Neil Patrick Harris fan as well, and the 2009 Tony's sealed the deal.

That reminds me of a discussion over on LinkedIn where someone asked about successful efforts to rebrand celebrities who were suddenly uncool for some reason at some point (scandal, no-longer-in-style image, etc.). In addition to Neil Patrick Harris, I thought of William Shatner, Wil Wheaton, Tami Faye Bakker, Donna Rice, and Steve Jobs. But other than Tami Faye, I couldn't think of anyone really famous or even semi-famous who came back from a really terrible or particularly salacious scandal except Bill Clinton (don't say Hugh Grant -- he wasn't married and I think his career actually got hotter because of that little incident), and he didn't rebrand himself -- just re-established himself with the same brand. I wouldn't count any of the people on The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest as rebranding themselves... Your ideas?

* * *
It's Girl Scout cookie presale time in the USA! Through cookie sales, Girl Scouts practice important skills: goal-setting, money management, teamwork, planning, decision-making & customer service. All proceeds-every penny-from a local council's cookie activities remain in the area where cookies are sold. Say yes to Girl Scout cookies!
* * *