Humans have a fundamental need to create and maintain a narrative for their lives in which the universe is not implacable and heartless, that terrible things do not happen at random, and that catastrophe can be avoided if you are vigilant and responsible.
Jul
02
2009
Jul
01
2009
Mary doesn't want to watch Ghostbusters
- Me: I ain't afraid of no ghost...
- Mary: I AM afraid of ALL ghosts!
Jun
30
2009
Jun
26
2009
Up until now all the advancements in technology have said information and data are the most important thing. The most important thing to us is that there is a person sitting behind that keyboard. We think the Internet is about people.
Dave Morin, Facebook’s senior platform manager
Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network’s Plan to Dominate the Internet
Jun
17
2009
Jun
17
2009
A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie (via megnut.com)
Awesome. Have fun getting .33 of an egg yolk!
Jun
15
2009
Abby and I have started a new photo Tumblr, inspired by A Year of Mornings. We are close friends who live on opposite coasts but whose lives reflect each other’s in strange ways, and I look forward to the day when we both upload a picture of a toast-and-jam breakfast before noon. Site redesign coming soon, but it’s followable now, if you like.
Jun
15
2009
Today/everyday
I am torn between feeling like “How is already 4 p.m.?!” and “How is it only 4 p.m.?!”Jun
14
2009
There is a very good chance I will be purchasing these. Victorian Peacock Vinyl Wall Decal by tweetheartwallart
Jun
13
2009
Scenes from Austin: A Shepard Fairey painting on the wall of Mellow Johnny’s, Lance Armstrong’s bike shop.
Jun
13
2009
Ride your personal magic like a pool noodle, all the way to the ice cream store!
Neko Case, said during concert banter (witnessed by Abbersnail)
May
25
2009
May
25
2009
Lt. Allison Oubre
A dear elementary school friend, Allison Oubre, was killed this week in a helicopter crash off the coast of San Diego. She was engaged to be married in just a few months, and she was an incredibly accomplished young woman, with a degree from Vanderbilt University and a commission as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot.
We had reconnected recently on Facebook with the typical “You look great! So glad things are going well for you” sort of sentiment. She did, and I was. The rest of us group of girls pulled together this week after we got the news of the crash, and we’re organizing some donations to our school in her name, sending cards to her family and Mass will be said this weekend in her honor, but it all feels hollow and “too little, too late,” as these things often do. I’ve accepted that.
But, also as these things often do, it’s brought the rest of us together. We’ve begun talking about a reunion and reminiscing about our days at Holy Family, a small Catholic school in Hawaii. My family lived in Honolulu for six years, the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere. My mom taught at the school, and then became its principal, and my brother and sister also attended. For a military brat, where home is where you’re stationed and military bases are comfortingly familiar worldwide, I’m startled to realize those years and those friends are some of the most stable I’ve had in 28 years.
What hurts so much about Allison’s death is how young she was and how full of promise she and her life were. And I don’t just mean the potential to do great things, which she surely would have, but that she already had been. To be an officer in the U.S. military — to serve in any form — is a huge accomplishment and takes a type of rare dedication and commitment that I unabashedly admire.
Allison died less than a week before Memorial Day. It’s the first time I’ve had anyone to personally remember today, beyond my grandfather, who served in the Army Air Forces in World War II. Please keep Lt. Oubre, her fiance, and her family in your thoughts and prayers today.
May
25
2009
