Talia, She Wrote

So... I am a total quote girl. I love them, I am touched by them, and I horde them...

But I am simplifying my life so I am going to put them all in this blog post and take them off my Facebook, etc. I'll keep adding so you keep checking. :)

"You have to keep moving forward. As long as you’re holding on to where you were yesterday, you’re standing still." -The Rebbe

"Faith, in its most sublime function, provides man with a level of courage that he could not otherwise achieve"

“…A Rabbi is a person in search of that which can never be found, but he knows that the search is what is important. Somehow to translate faith into life and love into action. And when he experiences it, he catches a glimpse of what everything is all about. And suddenly pettiness disappears. And hurt and aggravation fade away. And there is a light most wondrous to behold. Some people call it redemption. The Rabbi calls it God." –My Grandfather


Reb Nachman of Breslov said: "The voice of my beloved- the pulse. If you want to know G!d, you need only to listen to His voice within. You need never be lonely for Him or out of touch with His inner spirit; you can always touch your pulse and say, "Ah, there you are."


"Intolerance lies at the core of evil. Not the intolerance that results from any threat or danger. Not the intolerance that arises from negative experience. Just intolerance of another being who dares to exist, who dares to diminish the space in the universe left for you. Intolerance without cause.

It is so deep within us, because every human being secretly desires the entire universe to himself. Our only way out is to learn compassion without cause. To care for each other simply because that “other” exists." - The Rebbe

"In a single bond I am bound with Him; my soul is united with Him, burns in Him, cleaves to Him."
- Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the day of his passing, Lag BaOmer

"Hayom katzar, v'hamlakha m'rubah" -
"The day is short, the task is great"

"Actors are not made, they are born."
-Angela Landsbury

"I have great faith in fools; my friends call it self-confidence."
- Edgar Allan Poe

"In the midst of difficulty, lies opportunity."
-Albert Einstein

"A sorority is more than letters on a sweatshirt, I say. More than traditional songs, a gold pin, rituals, and obligation, or a way of life. A sorority is learning about people, a sorority is giving without expecting a return. A sorority is earning respect from others, as well as for yourself. A sorority will not solve all your problems. But I have made good friends and found confidence there to help me take life one step at a time."

Okay folks... watch this before you read my blog (but keep reading... please!)


Okay...

So if you have ever read any of my blogs, you know I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. I like him because he is flawed. He isn't all brawn and no brains. He loves to engage is mental gymnastics and can spend hours sitting in a chair thinking with his eyes closed before taking action. And yes, I know what you are going to say ... he's a boxer, he's hyper, he has ADD sometimes and yes, he does... but never once did Doyle write a scene where he was boxing or engaging in that type of physical behavior (I believe, I haven't researched this). He eluded to it... but never was Holmes interrupted in the middle of a boxing session. Knowing about that time period, I am inclined to say that Doyle wrote the boxing in to "place" Holmes in society. That was something that gentlemen did. They went to Gentleman Jacks to box. Nothing that I have ever read (and I have read most everything on Holmes) has given me the impression that he was an "action hero."

This new film (and only judging based on the trailer) seems to be an Americanized action flick with a predictable format that they decided to name Sherlock Holmes. I had my doubts from the start. The best Holmes-ian productions have been British. And hey, not discriminating here... I'm American but Doyle was British, Holmes & Watson were... Americans may have a hard time enjoying the subtly of the British humor and what not but an Americanized, cowboy-esq, action hero Holmes doesn't sit right with me.

Needless to say, I will see the film and let you know what I think but ... ... ... ... right now, I'm not sold...

SO, in my last blog (almost a month ago... yeah, sorry about that) I spoke briefly about my new job at Patheos.

Background - Patheos is a comparative religion website with a fantastic interface. It is a fabulous resource for anyone who is studying religion, wanting to know more about their own traditions, or has questions that have plagued them for years. The site launched on May 5 and it has been SO exciting! We have had some great coverage on the launch. See our Time.com article here. Leo and Cathie (the founders) are really passionate about the site and incredibly articulate about it!

Okay, so my role - I am the Community Manager for the site. You can really break the site into a few sections. There are the Gateways and library where the worlds traditions are cataloged and serve as a great resource. The Public Square is a place where the leaders of the faiths who are chronicled as Gateways can weigh in on some of the hottest, most controversial and thought provoking topics in our world today. And then there is the community section. That is where I come in. In the community, we have groups, blogs, and discussion forums. I have been hard at work creating the governance documents for this community. Leo and Cathie, in fact, everyone at Patheos is really committed to making this a safe place to express beliefs and learn about others. It has been a really cool and interesting and hard process for me but I have created some documents that I am really proud of and I think serve this community really well.

In addition to that, I have been learning about the back-end management and how to use the software that we are utilizing for this website. It is Pluck software and it is just so versatile and awesome. I have to say, I was partial geek before but now I am going into full geek mode! It's a lot of fun. Not only do I do the governance but I have also been charged with the social media aspect. Twitter and Facebook and all that jazz. My specialty! I have been learning so many new techniques and measurement ideas.

So that's the new gig. Really enjoying the co-workers, bosses, and the work. I am very happy I made this decision. On to Chapter Five in The Life of Talia. :)

I started a new job today at www.patheos.com. It is a comparative religion website with a social interaction aspect.

I highly recommend checking this site out. It hasn't fully launched yet (look for the main launch on May 5th) but it is super cool. The Judaism gateway needs some work so go to the contact us button if you are interested in being a contributor.

I don't have too much to say about it yet but I will keep you updated. (Come on, today is only my first day!)

Sorry that it's been a long time... life got REALLY busy!

Okay so, I have these awesome friends. They live down the street and their daughters go to ballet at BNC. Really fun and sweet family. I will give them fake names to protect their anonymity (but frankly, if you know me or BNC, you will see through my ruse). So Phad and Sen have 4 little girls. They are 8, 6, 4, and almost 2. Really smart and cute kids.

So I knew the 4 year old (we will call her... uhm... Poxy) since she was very little. When she was a toddler, she was so afraid of these primary colored plastic bugs that you could put the in a circle around her and she wouldn't cross it. SO funny. It was a pretty effective baby gate. But I have to say, I think the youngest (we will call her... uhm... Kaherazade) is the funniest.

Disclaimer, I think Sen is pretty much the best mom I have ever met. She is SO giving me mom lessons when I have kids.

So Kaherazade says many funny things. Lately it is "Bunnies, kill me." What she means is she wants her dad to go out and knock off the bountiful bunnies that have taken over their neighborhood. The girl is serious about this. She found a slingshot and gave it to Phad to get the job done! Tonight, we were getting their house ready for Easter while the three older kids were sleeping and making Easter baskets for all four. Kaherzy saw the stuffed, pink and purple, bunnies for the baskets and she kept saying "outside, outside" like we needed to put the stuffed ones outside and kill them! She was so serious! We had to take the bunnies out of sight.

So Kaherzy gives us many band names when she babbles... we like "Bunnies kill me beyotch." Don't steal it. It's ours. Kaherzy says sh*t, beyotch, a**hole, and my fav... c*ck when she means to say talk. Sorry if anyone is offended but it's hilarious and those words are off limits when she gets old enough to remember.

Beyond anything, my favorite is when she knows they are going to ballet or when she sees me and says "Tayah, Tayah." That sweet voice, blue eyes... dude, I am a big puddle.

The coolest thing about hanging with little kids is how in the moment you become and have to be. You can't worry about bills or problems or tomorrow or yesterday... you are right there, right then. Same thing with animals, I think.

I love kids. :-)
And lordy, I have so many good stories to tell at these girls' weddings. :-)

So, Sen said I could spill the beans and anyway I am doing a superior job of protecting their identities... HA HA... but... Sen is pregnant again! Totally unplanned and she didn't know until the middle of last week but she is almost 6 weeks. I am actually hoping for a boy... Phad needs some support in that house... but you know that kid will be dressed in girl clothes because that is what they have on hand! :-)

Okay. I get the economy is bad... trust me, I REALLY get it! But there has been this disturbing trend of laying off arts reviewers from major newspapers.

The LA Times has a section for Movie, TV, and Music reviews... no dance. Very little about dance on their online site. The Village Voice in NYC? Last I heard Deborah Jowitt, the dance critic, was laid off from the periodical. I hear she is still writing dance for them (she was a biographer of Jerome Robbins) but I don't think she is full time as a dance critic any more.

NYTimes? Anna Kisselgoff is a legend. She is still writing. But those are the biggies, guys. What about the locals?

Here is Denver we lost our full time dance critics a few years ago. Now they all wear multiple hats and are called "Arts Critics." And they do an enormous job. I am not knocking these hardworking folks but when a contact recently told me he couldn't make it because that weekend he had to go to a RollerDerby Dolls event, rock concert, and then a night club opening to cover for the paper, I decided that this has gotten out of hand. How can someone be an expert when they have to see so many different forms of entertainment to keep their jobs? They do a phenomenal job writing the articles but they don't get to connect to the work quite as well when they are running to the Philharmonic for their evening show, all in the same day.

The reason this came about is because our partner, Curious Theatre Company in Denver received this most AMAZING review by a writer for the Westword here in Denver. It is possibly the most beautiful review I have read. The show was incredible but this review, beautiful. Here is a link to the review - The Westword Eurydice

Final word, don't shove the arts to the side and call it okay. We may not be breaking news but we deserve column inches too.

Okay, off soapbox.

Well, it has officially happened. Twitter has taken over the world.

In the past week, I have had 10 friends join twitter who were anti-tweet before. Why the change? Why now?

The Denver Post ran an article in the Sunday A&E section about Twitter - http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_11899588
And on March 3rd they ran this Twitter article - http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_11826126
Two articles about Twitter in less than two weeks!!!!

Clearly, the press is jumping all over twitter and as it comes out that John Mayer is tweeting nasty about Jennifer Aniston during a concert or Shaq clearly doesn't know how to spell because his tweets are illegible, Twitter has become fodder for the mainstream. AND it is becoming a news source. People in the plane that crashed into the Hudson were tweeting live from the sinking plane and on the ferries. CNN's news isn't breaking anymore because I read it from the people who are experiencing it on Twitter.

Twitter caught my attention in the middle of 2007. At this point I can't remember who urged me to sign up but I had an account and then I read a story about an American kid in Egypt who got thrown in jail. He tweeted, "Arrested" and kept the world updated with his short tweets. The country was mobilized on his behalf in just a few hours and he was released. All because someone, his Tweeps, found out that he was in jail. I wonder how Twitter will figure into court cases and missing persons searches... "Well, Captain, she tweeted that she was meeting a guy out on cty rd 4 at 11:37pm and hasn't been heard from since." That plus GPS in cell phones should help locate missing tweeters.

But back to why the surge in members. I blame Facebook. So we all know by now that Facebook changed their interface and there are articles all over the web about how much it sucks and what people like or don't like (and then there are the people who don't really understand the Web 2.0/3.0 revolution and make up for it by calling those of us who do understand front end and back end systems and all that idiots and dorks and time wasters... I bet you in a month or two they will be calling us to help them get set up on Twitter or Facebook). I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of it (because frankly, I don't have the time to and it was done really well here - http://www.alternet.org/story/131866) but I think that the new "Twitter-like" Facebook interface helped make Twitter go mainstream but pissed off the Facebookers.

Here's the logic -
Facebook users who are Twitter users saw the similarities immediately. SO we all started Status Updating that and talking about how much we disliked it. That plus the abundance of media coverage about Twitter pushed these people over the edge and they signed up.

Now, I will say that of these people who just registered, many have only tweeted once and the tweet read something like, "Trying this Twitter thing out" or "Signing up for Twitter!" But that's okay guys, just hang in there. I think it was a full year after signing up that I got Twitter-active (now I have 600 some followers and well over 2,000 tweets, I average 16 tweets a day). It took going to the NPAC arts conference in Denver last year to really get me going. I realized I could tweet the wisdom I was getting and share it will my tweeps. It was great!

Anyway, here is another really great blog post on the evangelising of the anti-tweeters - http://www.sarahlacy.com/sarahlacy/2009/03/guest-post-a-facebook-addict-gets-twitter-religion.html

So, needless to say (I think), Twitter is becoming main stream and the early adopters (I like to think of myself as one) will be moving on to the next best thing. And Facebook, you are not it. I'm kinda happy with the change in Facebook... now my addiction is disappearing. Instead of checking it every half hour or so, I maybe check it once or twice a day! Whoo hoo!! I guess I don't need that 12 step for FB after all...