Desert Magnolia

I may be the last person on the planet to have seen Avatar, and that happened last night. Wow. So, I see what all the fuss is about, was astounded by the effects, and moved by the message. And chagrined..that the horrible truth is that we as humans, and particularly we humans who live in an intensely resource-dependent country take advantage of, or often annihilate, cultures and natural beauty to fulfill our endless needs. It made me want to become more involved in making the world a better, safer place. The concept of being connected, all of us, by a greater, subtle, ancient force also resonated deeply within me. I've always believed this, and feel the movie did a lovely job articulating and demonstrating that throughout. The Tree of Life web project is all about the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. I borrowed their key image for a visual because it is cool: On the Tree of Life website, they quote Darwin: "The affinities of all the beings of the ...

Enough of what? Well, work. Pressure. Hype. You name it. Then stupidity in general. Then arguing with colleagues about the finer points of marketing. There is no right answer in marketing, by the way. There's just shit you try, and occasionally, with a bit of luck and good timing, it works. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In fact, if they try to argue that marketing is an exact social science based on psychographic profiles and hardwired preferences coupled with social conditioning, you should end the conversation immediately. And call bullshit. Cuz they're either trying to sell you something (usually their preference on a given project), or just full of it. I'm just sayin'.

Since you last heard from me very very cool things have happened! Son graduated from NYU. With honors. He proudly presented me his transcript as part of my Mother's Day gift. Holy God! He created a dream, followed that dream, then absolutely totally without any hesitation realized it. And now, well, now he heads over to Abu Dhabi for a year to help establish the new NYU branch over there. Really. How cool is that? New York was...everything you'd expect it to be. It was colder than we'd planned (of course), so Daughter and I were layering up big time with Hubby's drifit stuff...thank goodness he always over prepares!  It also rained, but not New Mexico thunderstormy stuff, just cold drizzle...so we popped up our umbrellas and kept on doing what we were doing... The city still doesn't sleep, though we managed nicely during our stay -  a rarity. I think the trash truck that's been permanently assigned to me during my visits was on vacation...because there w...

Here we are. Wrapping a business week up, looking Mother's Day straight in the eye and generally pushing on through. When I look back at the week I'm amazed. At what was on the To Do list, what remains, and what will simply have to wait for me to return from NYC to deal with. There's no end of crushingly pressing (redundant I know but I like it anyway, today I like that phrase) projects to initiate/execute upon/complete. And in spite of my handing them off for care and feeding in my absence, they still seem to be here when I get back. See, and I think it's ok to admit this, I'm already there. In the Big Apple. With my soon to be high school graduate and Hubby, awaiting Son's big graduation ceremonies. I'm already feeling the energy of the other families, feeling the pride that accompanies being truly, honestly, completely blessed, and knowing that somewhere, somehow, something terribly important or a series of terribly important, or more likely an endl...

Daniel Day Lewis plays Guido Contini, an Italian director and tormented soul in this movie. His wife, played by Marion Cotillard, loves him in spite of his shortcomings which include, but certainly aren't limited to, a mistress, played astonishingly well by Penelope Cruz. Dame Judi Dench was fabulous as Lewis' long suffering costume designer/confidant, and did her level best to steer Lewis clear of the moral muck in which he continually found himself, winning my heart in the process. Her first memorable line in the movie characterizes their relationship: Directing a movie is a very overrated job, we all know it. You just have to say yes or no. What else do you do? Nothing. "Maestro, should this be red?" Yes. "Green?" No. "More extras?" Yes. "More lipstick?" No. Yes. No. Yes. No. That's directing. Sophia Loren plays Lewis' deceased mother, and offers posthumous advice with mediocre results as Lewis resists logic and seems ...

So, next week is the BIG WEEK for our family. Son escapes from graduates from NYU. With a double major. After working his ass off for the last four years. Literally. He's skin and bones, and one of our agenda items while we're in the Big Apple is to feed the boy as often and richly as possible. Seriously. Now, while he's making light of the fact that a: he's graduating, in four years, from a very good school, with a double major and has b: managed to work and learn some really great life skills along the way, we're kind of freaking out in the high desert. Our college origins are certainly more humble than Son's. UNM, after all, is a solid state school, but it's no NYU. And graduations take place in the Pit, which is cool, but isn't Radio City Music Hall or Yankee Stadium. I mean it. The College of Arts and Sciences is having their commencement in Radio City Music Hall. I don't have a photo of this venue handy, so I borrowed this one from A...

There is no way to really recap the events of the last couple of weeks, but I'll try. First, there was New York. Great trip. Event went very well. Had a lovely lunch in Washington Square Park with Son. He's on track for graduation...which is, gulp!, next week! NEXT WEEK! I love Washington Square Park. It's chock full of dogs, people noshing on various interesting things, musicians, skate boarders, and of course, no shortage of very important folks too focused on their stupid hand-held devices to smell the flowers, notice the Spring, feel the energy that blankets the entire area. Really, while I was there I had a fantasy...involving an electromagnetic pulse that would have deadened all signals and resulted in, yes, you guessed it, human interaction. NOT digital/virtual, but REAL. In an era when more people are virtually connected on multiple levels more than ever before, loneliness has become a pervasive condition. Turns out e-connectivity ain't the same as real...