happy happy joy joy

Bad quotation of the day: "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln. What a load of crap. He should have known better.

I recently heard of this book that I want to read called Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich. It addresses "How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America." Here is a summary:

A sharp-witted knockdown of America’s love affair with positive thinking and an
urgent call for a new commitment to realism

Americans are a “positive”
people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our
self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key
to success and prosperity.

In this utterly original take on the American
frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook
from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its
enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical
mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get
it, because God wants to “prosper” you. The medical profession prescribes
positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for
new departments of “positive psychology” and the “science of happiness.”
Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business
community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative
outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic
crisis.

With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed,
Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America’s penchant for positive thinking: On
a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with
stamping out “negative” thoughts. On a national level, it’s brought us an era of
irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative
best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a
call for existential clarity and courage.

And here is a video of an interview with the author on The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barbara Ehrenreich
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

no tea in team

Quotation of the day from MrsStephenFry, my favorite person to follow on twitter: "Mrs. Fry's motivational message: Put that cup of tea down and join a social group. Remember, there's no tea in TEAM. "

lots of vomit

Quotation of the day: "Rebekah, please get your vomit off of the table."--Kimberly H.

some videos of some stuff that I like

One of my favorite TV shows, Bones, will pay homage to The X-Files, my all time favorite show, next Thursday, in an episode called "The X in the Files." Check out the preview.
If you are an avid reader of my blog, you might remember that I lauded Lady Gaga, then the next day denigrated her. However, you can tell I am capricious because I now declare that her song "Bad Romance" is my favorite turn-it-up-loud-and-sing-ohhhhhhh-with-her song right
now. As with all things Lady Gaga, viewer discretion is advised.


Sunday is go-without-pants-day on Washington, DC's metro train.

Bad gym teachers can ruin sports for kids, says prof

Check out this article. I think this is what happened to me. I really wish I liked sports; I know I am missing out. But the thought of playing sports terrifies me. Bad gym teachers can ruin sports for kids, says prof

eye remover

Can you tell what's wrong with this product? I suppose someone might have use for it, but eye don't.

Heard at work today (don't blame me, I'm just the messenger):

• "I need to flick this booger off my finger," used metaphorically


• "Doing this is like jumping through a******s."

Rebekah this morning named her Ipod "Vladimir Smirnoff."

good old textbooks

I got a new phone. Here is a picture I took with it. Marginally better quality than the old one, huh?

On the radio this morning they were talking about how technology is advancing and how many things will soon be obsolete, such as CDs, DVDs, Blockbusters, and textbooks. "Textbooks?" I asked Jack Diamond (my favorite radio personality). Apparently you can save a bundle by getting your textbooks in electronic format. Now this may be fine for many people, and to them I say, "This may be fine for you." However, it is not fine for me. You may say, "Kimberly, you are too old if you can't stand the idea of studying from a laptop or Kindle." To that I say, "Not so." I love new technologies and embrace them with all my heart, excepting electronic textbooks.

There is something primal in me that loves paper. I tried using an electronic planner, but that went the way of all the world. For one thing, a worker bee in my profession cannot bring an electronic device into a classified hive. For another thing, I just like being able to write with a red pen and chew on a highlighter as I wield it bravely. I like to be able to quickly flip through the pages and practically be able to see the whole of the text at once.

Plus isn't there just something about shelves full of musty old books, the more and the mustier the better? They make you feel like a scholar. They feel nice to the touch. Don't you just love the sound the binding makes if it is really old? In some cases you can display them to show that you have conquered them.

You can print out the textbook in chunks, but wouldn't that be expensive, and defeat the purpose anyway? You'd have to use one of those awkward paper binding clips. Aubrey has some beautiful paper binding clips that she got for Christmas, but even they can't hold a candle to a hardbound book.

I just made the above point with a coworker, and he pointed out that, with a book in electronic format, you can conduct a search more easily. AND you can obviously carry them around much easier. AND some people might just learn better with an electronic book. To him (my coworker) I say touche.

So really it comes down to personal preference. My preference is trees. I like trees. Paper textbooks will never go away completely.

Words of the day: commensurate and repository, both of which I used this morning in my speech. Lower case speech, not a formal Speech or anything.