Happy Comic-Con Friday!

Happy Friday!

It’s been a dream of mine to go to the San Diego Comic-Con for years now.  This is the weekend of 2012 Comic-Con and so, in true geek nature, I’ve been stalking all of my comic blogs to absorb every possible detail about what’s happening in the San Diego Convention Center.

This year, the hype is all over the map.  Dark Knight Rises comes out a week from today.  The Walking Dead comics and show.    Neil Gaiman announced that he’ll be writing a new Sandman book. Wreck-It Ralph.  The Avengers, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man…

Yes yes, it’s all geek speak.  But I think there is one thing that almost everyone can get on board with. 

Geeks in costume rock.

Image from here.

This is my mom.  She’s pretty great.

This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day (or Grandmother’s Day, or Aunt’s Day, or Sister or Sister-in-Law, Foster mom, Adopted Mom, or Significant Other, or Cousin, or Great Aunt, etc. whatever makes sense for your family).

In our family, Mother’s Day actually lasts the entire weekend. Which is lovely, and a little funny.  Those of you who have been anywhere near me during my birthday month, now understand why my birthday lasts much longer than a day.

Over the last few years, she has decided that instead of gifts, she wants to give and receive experiences.  I love this idea and so as I was preparing for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend, I was looking forward to hearing about what we would be doing.  Spa day?  A day at Powell’s?  A trip to the beach maybe?

Nope!

This year, we will be visiting the exotic, adventurous, and exclusive…

Mom’s Office.

My mom is a photo fanatic.  She has been working on a picture project for the last several years to collect, preserve, and share family photos. 

So Mother’s Weekend this year will be spent crowded around mom’s computer, sorting, editing, and otherwise fantastic-izing thousands of pictures.

Let’s wish them a happy day/weekend and thank them for putting up with the phase we went through when all we would do in pictures is stick out our tongues or give the thumbs up.

The End of 1000 Awesome Things Friday

Hi Friday Friends,

Yesterday, my favorite blog came to an end.  I’ve made references to it before in these emails, sent many of you specific entries that remind me of conversations we’ve had, and even spoken about it in Leadership Lunches. Over the course of four years, the author, Neil Pasricha, started here, on a mission to heal himself, and has ended up here.

1000 Awesome Things has had a hugely positive impact on my days.  I read it every day. 

Watching Neil’s Ted Talk about the 3 A’s of Awesome really got me as well.  It’s 17 minutes and worth every second. 

Watch it and be inspired to make every second of your time on earth really truly count by focusing on the small things that really matter and make us joyful. 

image from here.

Happy Science Friday

Hello Friday!

I’ve always liked science.  Not the kind I had to take in school though.  I hated dissecting worms in Biology class, and Physics will never be something I fully grasp (though, if I’m honest, that might be because I spent all of those class periods screwing around in the back of the classroom with my buddies).

I remember taking field trips to OMSI with my grade school class.  We’d get a chance to play in the water shed exhibit and the earthquake house assuming it was all in the interest of fun.  We would stare up at the enormous animatronic dinosaurs (before they were sadly obsolete) while learning that they were really closer to birds than snakes or lizards and other gross slimy things.

On Wednesday, I went to see Body Worlds at OMSI After Dark with some friends.  I had never seen the exhibit and frankly, didn’t quite know what to expect.  While I was there, I was struck by the incredible strength and power of the human body.  Even the most delicate pieces, like our capillaries, and spinal column are so tiny but do so much. I am amazed how, even when our body hurts or when we are battling illness, our bodies respond and try to save us.

However, the best part for me was the fact that, in true Portland form, the whole place was FULL of grown-ups playing with science toys.  That water shed exhibit?  Still there.  And this time, it was surrounded by people my age and older learning about the water cycle.  The earthquake room?  Full of adults bracing themselves against the walls and laughing as “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King played. 

Go to OMSI.  Go play for the sake of science and learning and playing.

Happy Friday!

Image from here.

Happy Fall Back Friday!

Get ready for some knowledge my Friday people. 

Usually I think that the whole Daylight Savings Time thing is nonsense.  Do I work on a farm?  No.  Do I need to mess with my clock in order to change around the sunlight and such?  No.  HOWEVER, of the two clock-switching things, this is the best one.

It’s kind of like a (way) less cool version of time travel.

So, this Sunday night, turn your clocks back 1 hour and enjoy the fact that your normal alarm clock wakeup call will feel just a little less painful.

Image from here

In Honor of Steve Jobs Friday

I was going to write about my birthday for this post.  But I think there are more important things to say today.

With Steve Jobs passing away on Wednesday, I could say that he left a hole in the creative and technological world.  But I don't think that's really true.  He had a hand in creating some of the most exciting and crave-worthy technology and art that has come about in my lifetime, and I'm grateful.  For that reason, for that joy and gratitude that I feel for his part, I think that he hasn't left a hole, but a constantly evolving way for us to pursue more and more wonderful creations.

Because of his amazingly innovative spirit, we have this.  And this.  And I'm not going to lie, he even had an influence on this.

Whenever I felt like I needed a little extra boost or some inspiration, I would hop on Ted.com and listen to his Stanford commencement speech.  It lifted me up every time.

So on this Friday, I am choosing to seek out some inspiration, feel joyous about what Steve created, and maybe watch a little Toy Story. 

* image from here.