Sunday Special

This poem was read in church today. I really enjoyed it and thought I'd share:

Desiderata

Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Parenting

I've been home the last couple days, sick with an ear and sinus infection. Perfect condition for absorbing mindless, daytime television. Also makes me realize why I am still not a fan of watching TV. Today's beef: Parenting in America.

While watching the tube, I came to the realization that there is not ONE single decent parent being shown on air. None. First stop, Rachael Ray's talk show:

Scenario: Mom is upset because her two-year old son would rather be with his dad and wants nothing to do with the mother. At first I felt kind of bad, then the mother opened her mouth. Here are her complaints:

• I gave up my job to take care of my son and he [the 2 year old son] doesn't appreciate that.

• I HATE being outdoors and I will take him [again, the 2 year old] to the park ALL day because he's the boy. (There was some obvious resentment in her tone)

• I read him my favorite books and he [again the 2 year old] doesn't like them.

SERIOUSLY???? He's TWO YEARS OLD! How selfish. No wonder the kid doesn't want to be around her. And the worst part is everyone was all pity-party for her. Oy. 

After a 4 hour nap, I woke up to watch wife-swap. Oh boy. That was a good watch. The one mother, a down-home Kentucky woman who was a sweetheart and a half, lets herself get walked all over by her daughters and asshole husband. She waits on the family hand and foot and gets no respect, yet she never puts her foot down. And then the other mother (this family was the best!) is a high-power exec., running a ghost-hunting business. And her husband is a Shaman. Seriously. Needless to say, it was a great show. Both mothers sucked. And the kids were all a bunch of brats. It was literally the worst of both extremes. One mother too sweet, the other too cold. 

Right now it's Super Nanny. This show just burns me up. What's with parents these days? Why is there NO discipline?? It seems parents are more concerned being a "friend" and not a parent. It's pitiful. They let their toddlers walk all over them and give in to every tantrum. Sigh. At any rate, these shows give me hope that if I ever find myself in a relationship, ever get married, and at some point bear children, I think I'd do a pretty good job. At least compared to what I'm seeing in the media. 

Come on America. Wake up and smell the Pampers. These kids are our future! As corny as it sounds, it's true. Scary thought: these over-spoiled, under-challenged, irresponsible hellions will be controlling our nation. I'd say that's worthy of a nightmare or two!

Post about future Post

Conversation with s 70-some year old homeless Vietnam veteran with few teeth makes for an interesting and mildly disturbing day. But conversation with an old, well-read Japanese man (who makes the BEST sushi in Nashville for 5 bucks) is enlightening and very informative.

More on that later.

Word of the [not-so] wise: If you go two weeks without any (and I mean ANY) sugar or caffeine, don't partake in a cup of coffee and half a chocolate cupcake. Bad news, that is. Bad bad idea. 

Witches n' Shit

Snippet of conversation on AIM with my sister (Morgan). Looks like the late 1600's are making a comeback in Providence.

morgan 3:23
taylor, i am going to go to a psychic

taylor schena 3:23
what?

morgan 3:23
i think maybe she can help me figure out my subconscious

taylor schena 3:24
well you live on the beach
24:46
so i'm sure you can find one on a boardwalk somehwere

morgan 3:24
and there are tons or wiches and shit around
25:00
this is new england

The Birds

Went to "Movies in the Park" at Centennial Park tonight with Nate, Mark and Hilary. I do love that movie. Such a classic. The filming is fantastic for the time and the cast is perfect. I love the slight accent and the way in which people interacted back then. So classy. Even when the characters are pissed at each other, the retorts are curt yet sophisticated. I love it.

At the end of the movie my friends and the folks around me were baffled, "I don't get it, did it have to do with the love birds?" In my head it all makes perfect sense. It's totally gender-based. I can't help picking apart the movie. Granted, while I took Gothic and Horror Lit in college 4 years ago, and slept through a good portion of the class, I still can't watch horror films without trying to pinpoint the "other."

The "Bird War" begins when Melanie visits Bodega Bay. She goes completely against the grain of what the typical female role is expected to be at the time. She is single, successful and jumps naked into fountains in Rome. Even the locals take notice. At the diner, post-gas-station explosion, the paranoid, hysterical mother points to Melanie and states that it all started when she came to town. Goes so far as to point at Melanie and exclaim: "Why are they [the birds] doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from! I think you're evil. EVIL! "

Other female characters in the film are motherly. You have Annie Hayworth, Mitch's old flame who moved to Bodega Bay for her love for Mitch and never left, just so she could be close to him. She becomes the local school-marme which is essentially a motherly role. Lydia, Mitch's mother, is by default the standard mother both literally and figuratively. She makes it a point to bring up Melanie's reckless behavior and tells about how she still wakes up in the morning ready to prepare breakfast for her deceased husband. Her life revolves around her past husband and holding on to Mitch. As you can see, Mitch's role is the patriarch, the alpha male which every female looks to for support, Annie, Lydia, even his little sister, Cathy. All of the females except Melanie. Initially anyway.

While she does follow him to Bodega Bay, at the onset Melanie isn't swooning or drooling over Mitch. In fact, she is the one that makes the effort to "court" him in a sense. Bringing him lovebirds for his little sister, following him out to the country. She is the one doing the "hunting." Very much a role reversal. She is somewhat adamant on leaving yet Mitch persuades her to stay. As the movie progresses she comes to rely heavily on Mitch and becomes more motherly toward Bethany, which is quite the contrast of her character at the beginning. In the end, you see the issue of the Birds is "solved" as they drive away and Melanie is being held by Lydia, she is giving in and letting Lydia "mother" her and thus finally regards her as Mitch's better-half, or daughter-in-law. Melanie gives in to the ways of the "proper" woman, the daughter, the "wife" and "mother" figure to Cathy. And at this point the case is closed, story over.

Yes, the storyline of The Birds is overly creepy and chilling.. especially in the scene with the man with the gouged-out eyes. And on the playground as flocks upon flocks of birds gather on the jungle-gym. That just in itself is unnatural and unsettling, but I can't resist picking apart the underlying Gothic theme. I could be totally off and geeking out beyond all reason, but it makes sense to me. And was fun to think about.

Dang I miss Professor Herr's Honors Gothic and Horror Lit class.

AIGA Leadership

Conference. That's where it's at. I've been hanging around Omaha since Wednesday night for the AIGA Leadership Conference. I've been able to meet folks form AIGA chapters ranging from Portland, ME to Portland, OR and all the way out to Hawaii. I've met AIGA peeps from almost every state. All I have to say is AIGA is populated by some quality people. Rather than being a creativity-oriented conference like most I've been to, this one focuses on, well, leadership. It's very motivating and inspiring to see what other chapters around the country are up to, to chat with Debbie Millman about programming, or schmooze with Honolulu's president, or eat lunch with DC and Arizona chapters. And not to mention checking out everyone's collateral.. amazing!

And the best part is, everyone is down to earth. Just a super-cool, laid back fun bunch of people. All talented, all hard workers, all dedicated, all passionate, and did I say all fun? Yes. All fun.

After waiting almost an hour for a shuttle, almost getting hit by a car, a social at the local art gallery (read: free drinks.. and some Dale Chihuly sculpture), double-fisting said free drinks, watching Phillip give crap to a bouncer, foosball at a local bar.. I'm chilling out for the next 15 minutes before heading out to the next round of parties. Rooms 534/524/622 are where it's going down! Oh yeah. We may be design nerds, but we still know how to get down. You should see the looks on the locals' faces! Oh boy! 40+ design geeks in one local bar is quite the sight to see!

I heart drawing

I don't do this* near often enough... and I miss it.



*By this I mean drawing. Not to be confused with hula dancing.