Talent

Have you ever noticed how so many people who have talent are overly talented, i.e. they are beyond exceptional at what they do or they are exceptional at more than one thing like singing and dancing, writing books and plays, drawing and painting, playing an instrument and singing, the list goes on and on. Now the question is, is this phenomena due to the fact that talent is only allotted to 1 out of every 10, or is it that some of us are smarter than others in recognizing they have talent and they focus all their energy on developing it, or is it that I'm over analyzing it and we'll never know why some are more talented than others? Don't answer that.

Leonardo Da Vinci probably had one of the best developed minds ever known. Here are just a few of his gems.






I'm sitting here watching Joshua Bell play a violin in ways that I'm sure the original violin
inventor never dreamed possible. Not only that, he can't be more than 33 or less as this picture so vividly demonstrates. I do love to watch extreme talent in action whether it's in music, in sports, in the theater or movies, in writing, in dancing, in Cirque du Soleil, you name it, they are all a sight to behold.

You will, however, notice that I drew the line at professional wrestling, boxing,
or stock car racing for that matter. There are some "talents" that I simply
don't care to emphasize or watch. You could say, my life is already rich enough without them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HEALTHY NEW YEAR! HUMOROUS NEW YEAR!

Repeat...with a Twist!

January - We watched Alfred Hitchcock's absolute best of all time, "Rear Window" starring the first ever Barbie doll, Grace Kelly.

February - I remember standing in front of the television on a Sunday night in 1963 when The Beatles were first on Ed Sullivan thinking what in the world are those girls screaming about.

March - Another point of note, as we were landing the night before, the flight attendant pointed out the gentleman sitting at the far right of the front row in his army camouflage fatigues, with his backpack belted into the seat next to him reinforcing the part it plays in his life, was returning home from Baghdad.

April - P. S. I'm shocked Kara has never thought of creating a limeskin helmet for one of her cats.

May - If I say "warm and fuzzy", does the subject of this photo say it all?June - So then I started to think about who would be worth my time to sit for an hour and watch on tv.

July - I warned her, she will go through the same thing with baby boy.

August - So, what's new?

September - (I'd much rather look at him than at Mozart.)

October - Laura and Ty have got the weirdest fungus growing in their tree.

November - Now these are what I mean by protests.




December - 2. It keeps your mind limber

Okay, I never claimed to be original, creative or any other artsy-fartsy thing but I really liked the idea I saw on Kara's blog about posting the first line from each blog beginning each month of the last year. So, to be a teensy weensy bit different, I've done it with the first line from the second paragraph of each month.

So if you want my opinion on what I've had to say over the last year, here are my thoughts:

• RANDOM
• List maker
  
• Lots of nostalgia tucked away in there, sometimes in the form of old movies
• Completely unoriginal in all cases, sometimes going beyond the bottom of the barrel for ideas
  
• Periodic activist tendencies
• Real life creeps in once in awhile and I'm drawn into family emergencies, then quick to share. Let's just say I've become intimately familiar with the emergency room down the road.
  
• Only slightly opinionated (of course I get that from my daughter)
• December is a hopeless blogging month for me, along with many other things I don't get done.
  
• The fungus is still there.

Look at it this way, I have scads of room for improvement in the new yeuh. But don't count on it.

Brain Dump

I can't believe I haven't blogged since the 5th and today is the 13th and it's already 9:25 in the PM. I've decided I have a middle-class, yuppie cat. I base this on the fact that she; a) always wants more than she has, and b) has to have everything perfect, her way or the highway. Ultimately an allergic mess wrapped up in a natural fur coat. I think her little pea brain honestly believes she's some kind of royalty. I just shake my head.

Have you ever wondered where all the stuff in the Ross stores comes from? Goodwill is full of donations, Walmart is full of their own sad, sad brands, as is Nordstrom. So when you walk through Ross, you have to ask yourself, what blind buyers in what sad store ever bought this stuff in the first place? It certainly isn't the place to go if you actually need something specific because that's when they won't have it, kind of like Costco. The never-count-on-it just live spontaneously store. Not only is it a colossal pile of junk, it's not cheap. Or, maybe I'm cheaper. The eternal question. Anyway, it isn't just the cheap junk, it's the cheap junk all over the floor. What is it about people who shop in these places and their slovenly attitudes, just dropping the sad but slightly pricey merchandise on the floor and not just leaving it there, walking on it or driving their cart over it. And the service, I definitely don't think I'll be getting a follow up call at home asking me how my shopping experience was.

Tomorrow I'm attending a 30 year luncheon for one of my employees. All I can say is I'll be dead before I reach mine so no cake for me.

Tomorrow I'm also taking my car full of Christmas paraphernalia to the Battered Women's and Children's Shelter. This is one of my favorite things to do because these ladies have absolutely nothing and it's so important to get them off on the right start so they aren't tempted to go back.
I've had lots of support from my co-workers this year and I'm so thankful for that.

Do you even have a clue how many different types of toys they have created for kids in the bathtub, I don't see any good reason for kids to ever get out of their bath anymore. They look like so much fun I'd like to have some of them myself. It's really amazing. There's nothing like a good toy store for what ails you.

Time is barreling by and I have about a zillion presents to wrap. I wonder if I stay up all night every night from now till then if I'll be able to get it all done. Probably not so I guess we'll just have to delay Christmas, no you say? OK, I'll have to hire some additional elves. Maybe my condo cat could see her way to moving off the middle of the paper and helping me wrap. Probably only if she can shred the paper as she goes. Oh well, it will all get done somehow, I don't know how though, it's a mystery.

Better Me Than Them

The top 10 reasons why it's better for me to get sick or injured than my kids:

1. I can't stop thinking/worrying about them
2. It hurts me when they hurt
3. It's easier for me to have the problem than know they are having to deal with all the crap that goes with being sick or hurt
4. I can afford it more than they can
5. I don't have small children
   
6. I have a car
7. I have better insurance
8. I'm used to it
9. I'm less interested in being out and about with friends as frequently
   
10. I hurt all the time anyway
11. You never stop being a mom!
    

With Kara at Urgent Care right now after falling down the stairs that's all I can think about but I'm trying to be good and not call her. It's very, very hard. Especially knowing she was going to see her friend Beth tonight (who she hadn't seen for such a long time) to celebrate Beth's engagement.

I said good-bye to another co-worker who is retiring today. Each one is making it harder and harder to be the one left behind. Of course knowing he is going right to Hawaii and Christmas Island to fly fish doesn't make me jealous, much. I know both his parents were relatively young when they died so I hope he has a long, happy retired life.

Another half hour and I'm going to call her.

Why Blogging Is Good for Your Health

1. It keeps your fingers flexible
2. It keeps your mind limber
3. All the bad vibes escape
4. All the good vibes get positive reinforcement
5. It broadens your thinking by offering differing points of view
6. It shrinks the world
7. You make new friends (and sometimes there are cookies involved)
   
8. You learn new stuff
9. We get to be creative
10. We get to laugh at all the weird stuff Google has under any given Images category
11. It reminds us we aren't alone in the world
12. It's perfectly okay to have an opinion and share it, at least one other person will probably agree with you
13. You can get caught up on certain world events just in case you missed them in the normal course of your day
14. You can find out just how many people love John Stewart!
15. The true extent of laziness of some bloggers becomes abundantly clear by their month long hiatuses
    
16. The world can take a flying leap for the period of time you are immersed in your blogmosphere
17. It's possible to get an answer to age old questions (it may not be right but it's an answer)
18. It's okay to be bizarre and crazy, only your rules apply
19. You can always find time for a little blogging, just like there's always room for Jello
20. (Unlike David Letterman) you can come up with a top 20 list regardless of whether there's a Writer's strike or not

Sayonara