bird by bird

Sometimes I sit back and try to imagine my life without YouTube. Then I shudder and rush to my computer like a 5 year old in front of Saturday morning cartoons. (Do they even have those anymore?!) Anyway, here are some of my favorite videos.. in no particular order This is a video made from Valentine-related 'secrets' from postsecret.com. I am a self-proclaimed Regina Spektor nut and this video shows why. How cute is she?? This video moves me. I can't really explain why.. I love the movie, song, girl, boy, story, colors, everything. It's different. Secret Heart by Feist is one of my top 20 favorite songs on the planet! Let me clarify, this version of Secret Heart by Feist is one of my favorite songs on the planet. If there is a way to somehow capture this video/song version and play it all around me all day, I would be a happy girl. This is just freaking funny. You will never think of Aladdin the same. A weird scene from a weird movie. Story of my life. I could never b...

"If I know what love is, it is because of you." --Herman Hesse

So if you didn't know, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. This is my 22nd consecutive Valentine-less Valentine's Day, but I'm happy to report that I've successfully completed all of the stages of (good) grief: 1. Shock and Denial: This one hit probably in kindergarten.. "What do you mean he doesn't want this Valentine cupcake? It's fresh from my easy bake oven! This cannot be!" 2. Pain and Guilt: Definitely a middle school stage. This is when giving valentines became voluntary thus leaving this 13 year old's locker empty minus the love note from mom stuck to my bologna sandwich. "What is wrong with me?" 3. Anger and Bargaining and 4. Depression, Reflection, Loneliness: Combined these stages reflect the first three years of college. My sophomore year on Valentine's Day, I wore all black and tried really really hard not to smile all day. It didn't work. I also tried bargaining by sacrificing other holidays in return for a ...

"Good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing which is one reason they write so very little. But we do." --Anne Lamott

It's nice outside and I just got an email from Sister Ida! Good Afternoon Amanda, We went to Hamlin last night and did not sing piano man and I miss you but we do have good help in Sr. Sharon and others. Ruth was there after being sick a couple of weeks. 6 Latinos came and your two. I hope all continues to go well for you. Take time to play in the snow and do sculptures! I made a snow rabbit last Sat. Love, Ida I just love my sistas! "Sister Stories" coming soon. A good day.

I don't have much to write tonight.. so I'll let Walt Whitman take it away. This is one of my all time favorite poems. It's short and simple. Best of all, it makes me feel better about my inadequacy in understanding simple math and science concepts.. Because by God, I can see the stars . When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer; When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; 5 Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Some Websites I Dig: Pandora.com Uh, hello? free music AND it introduces you to new stuff? I “gave” this to my dad for Father’s Day one year.. best gift I ever gave him. Postsecret.com “PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.” This is the second best thing about Sundays. I’ve never sent in a postcard but I identify with at least once a week. Onesentence.org “True stories, told in one sentence” I absolutely love how so few of words can say so much. Vladstudio.com “Vladstudio is the project of Russian digital artist Vlad Gerasimov. In 1998 I started to design user interfaces for web sites and software applications. However, when I had some free time, I created desktop wallpapers. Over the time, this hobby has grown into business, and today I enjoy full-time self-employment, creating wallpapers for your computers and mobile devices. I love what I do, and I am happy that many people around the world love it, t...

As a child, I was so afraid of flying that I refused to go on a family trip to Disney Land . My parents got me prescription tranquilizers and I went anyway. Now I love to travel drug-free! I have really big feet, which is cool if you’re a dude, but, I am not. My dad picked out my name when he was in High School after he heard the song “Amanda” by Don Williams. The Boston song “Amanda” in 1986 was a total coincidence and has resulted in major name theft as far as I’m concerned. Yes, I’m bitter. The total years I played softball is greater than the total runs I scored. (It’s 8) I like to think I offered the team comedic relief over athletic ability. I love dancing and have a really hard time controlling it sometimes. The only exception to this is the Cha Cha slide. I hate it. I am an estrogen magnet. I have a sister and mom at home, lived on an all girls floor freshman year, moved into a sorority, work...