Importance of Collective Mourning
Here’s the text of President Obama’s speech from the Tucson memorial service. It makes me want to be a better person.
Tears, 1930, by Man Ray
Will This Time Be the Right Time for Online Dating?
3 days left to fulfill my pledge of registering for Jdate. How’s your New Year’s resolution going?
Contest winner announced Friday!
Image by Sarah Illenberger
Trying To Make Sense Out of Tragedy
I’m holding on to the beaming rays of light from Tucson. Like Daniel Hernandez, the 20-year old intern, with his steely calm and rapid response, literally, under fire, who just might have saved the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. And Patricia Maisch, at 61, who had the astounding courage to grab the magazine clip as the shooter was trying to reload.
This image, Women in Motion, is by Malangatana Ngwenya one of Africa’s best-known and beloved contemporary artists, who died at the age of 74, last week. He was another beam of light, whose work was inspired by the political conditions in his home country of Mozambique and where he remained a strong cultural and civic presence throughout his life.
Practicing For the Weekend
I just returned from a routine mammogram, which always leaves me irrationally anxious. (One funny side note was when the technician asked me, “how big are your breasts?” I mean, how do you answer that?) It’s my habit for 48 hours after this preventative test, to get jumpy every time the phone rings. But weekend approaches, and I plan on leaving all worries at the door.
It’s the last day to enter our contest. Wonderful skincare by Arcona is a resolution away.
Illustration by Sarah Mick (from the awesome To Resolve Project at Motherland)
5 Self-Serving Reasons to Volunteer
Leading up to the 2004 election, I decided to phone bank for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. What got me in the door was politics, but also, because I hoped to meet someone to date. Okay, a bust on both counts. But it got me in the habit of pro-bono work. On January 17, in honor of Martin Luther King, President Obama is calling for a national day of service. Find an opportunity in your community. Be selfish and become a volunteer. Consider the perks:
In Good Company
Tucked in the back of a low-rent L.A. mall is Sports Chalet, whose name will tell you all you need to know. Today, I went there for a pair of 3-Lb. Neoprene dumbbells, which I’ll be using to sculpt my triceps. Now that Christmas and post-Christmas have come and gone, I expected the store to be like a morgue, but in fact, it was bustling. As I waited impatiently to pay, I looked around at the line of people cradling every variety of exercise gear, and realized we were there on the same mission, summed up by a poster at the store’s entrance: New Year, New You. Segue – OUR CONTEST
Illustration by Simon Foster (via Chris Streger at Motherland)
Another Year, Another Sad Sack Single Woman
On New Year’s Day, I saw the film by acclaimed British director, Mike Leigh. I’m a big fan of his work (Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake), and his improvisational workshop method, which extracts amazing performances from actors, many of whom he uses again and again. Another Year is a character study about a happily married couple and their friends – in particular, a troubled and very lonely, single woman. It was uncomfortable for me to watch, as I kept making mental lists as to why this character’s life was nothing like mine. The more I think about the film, the more it pisses me off. And yet, Another Year is riveting. If you see it, please report back.
Contest details here.
One Small Step in 2011
My friend calls the first day back at work after Christmas break, the “mother of all Mondays.” Everyone is out of sorts, after being held captive, once again, by alarm clocks and frantic deadlines. On the plus side—and you see, right there is evidence of one of my 2011 resolutions (glass half full), I feel a palpable sense of renewal. Thanks to all of you, who’ve already entered our CONTEST, with your New Year’s resolutions. For what it’s worth, let me throw mine into the pot. (If only I could win the sumptuous prize from Arcona skin care.) Sometime before January 14, I’m registering for JDate. And I’m hedging here as to the exact moment, because I do so with dread. No one said resolutions are easy. Contest deadline is Friday. Come on! Jump in the pool.
Savor the Old. Bring in the New!
The only way to spend New Year’s Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears. ~W.H. Auden
Make your New Year’s resolution count. Enter our contest.
Image: 2011 in Hong Kong
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FIRST PERSON SINGULAR is a guide to surviving, thriving and sometimes just getting through a single day. Created by Wendy Braitman (more…)
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