Spring Break in 24 hours...

...and this is my plan.

xo kate

Happiness...

xo kate

The President and Sports

Bill Simmons has been on my list of internet personalities that I love for about 13 years now, since back in the day when he really did only write about Boston sports.  His baffling knowledge of, and appreciation for, all things Boston, sports and early nineties Fox prime-time dramas really defines a lot of what I care about.  But his postcast with President Obama just takes it to a whole news level.  Particularly with a Republican field of I-hate-poor-people, I-hate-women, and I-hate-poor-people-women-gays-and-minorities, it's easy to love the Commander In Chief, but he just keeps making it easier.  Full podcast available here.  Transcript available here.

"Well, it’s funny, the mythology of sports is just — it's deeply embedded in us. I remember I visited Iraq as a senator, and I think at that point I had already started running for president, but I can’t remember. Anyway, they invited me to go into this gym, and there were like 3,000 of our troops there. And somebody just handed me a ball and said, "Come on, Mr. President, take a shot." And I said, OK, and I shot it and swished it from the 3-point line. And the amount of excitement that those folks had was surprising to me.

But I think it just sort of reminded me of the kind of bond that sports creates in people. People — for all our differences politically, regionally, economically — most folks understand sports. Probably because it’s one of the few places where it’s a true meritocracy. There’s not a lot of BS. Ultimately, who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s performing, who’s not — it’s all laid out there."

xo kate

Fist Pumps and Baby Bumps

"MTV gets ready for fist pumps and baby bumps. … America's favorite housemates will all return to their home-away-from-home, and the house dynamic is headed into unchartered territory . . .as their lives outside the "Shore" take off in exciting new directions."  -MTV.com


I can't lie, I'm kind of excited about this.  That makes me hate myself just the tiniest bit.


xo kate

"..the burden of Black boys..."

Ever since I heard about Trayvon Martin, the 17 year-old African American boy who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a paranoid neighborhood watchman with a history of violent behavior, I have been attempting to process my own emotions.  My initial anger and horror that I live in a country where -- 44 years after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- being young, Black and male is still a crime worthy of punishment,  has faded to a deep, deep sadness and anger.

Now, 23 days after Trayvon's tragic death, there have still been no arrests made -- despite the fact that George Zimmerman admitted to shooting Trayvon, who was described by a teacher as an "A and B student who majored in cheerfulness," because he "looked suspicious."  The police in Florida have been accused of tempering with witnesses to try and fabricate an altercation between these two men in order to back up Zimmerman's claim that he acted in self-defense.  (For those who are less familiar with the case, Trayvon Martin was a 140 pound, 17 year-old, walking with Skittles and an ice tea, and George Zimmerman is a 28 year-old, 250 pound man driving an SUV and armed with a 9mm handgun.  George Zimmerman pursued Trayvon and confronted him.  Trayvon was also heard crying and screaming for help by at least three witnesses.  But obviously it was Zimmerman who was in immediate physical danger.)  To me, this case exemplifies the deep and insidious racism that still pervades so much of this country and that too many people are unwilling to even recognize, let alone take a stand against.

Yesterday, Charles Blow wrote an opinion piece that really hit home with me.  It's worth reading in it's entirety, but here's the quote that got to me in particular.

This case has reignited a furor about vigilante justice, racial-profiling and equitable treatment under the law, and it has stirred the pot of racial strife.

As the father of two black teenage boys, this case hits close to home. This is the fear that seizes me whenever my boys are out in the world: that a man with a gun and an itchy finger will find them “suspicious.” That passions may run hot and blood run cold. That it might all end with a hole in their chest and hole in my heart. That the law might prove insufficient to salve my loss.

That is the burden of black boys in America and the people that love them: running the risk of being descended upon in the dark and caught in the cross-hairs of someone who crosses the line.

xo kate

In JLo news...

Am I the only person who didn't know that JLo's stunt double is a man?  This may be my favorite picture ever.

xo kate

Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Continually shhh'ed

“Being tender and open is beautiful. As a woman, I feel continually shhh’ed. Too sensitive. Too mushy. Too wishy washy. Blah blah. Don’t let someone steal your tenderness. Don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. Whether it’s a song, a stranger, a mountain, a rain drop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep, feel it all – look around you. All of this is for you. Take it and have gratitude. Give it and feel love.”

Zooey Deschanel

In the wolfpack: Beatbox Flute Guy

I want to waste my time with you.

There's some people you just know you'd have a good time with.

When I think about who I want to waste my time with, it's usually a pretty short list.  Like, okay, friends and family whatever whatever.  Then it's basically Chuck and Blair (either on a shopping spree or a scam), Zac Efron (in the middle of a dance number), Will Ferrell (anywhere and everywhere), Barack and Michelle (just kickin' it), Eminem (I really, truly believe that we would be best friends) and Ye and Jay (in the studio, dropping beats).

Luckily for me, some amazingly simplistic video game developer made it possible for me to waste loads of time keeping Kanye out of the zone.  Anyone who knows me knows that I loath video games and computer games.  It's not that I think they are a waste of time or money or whatever. (With my online shopping habit I know better than to judge people who waste time and money on their computers.)  It's mostly just that I don't find them entertaining in the least.  When other people do, I tend to feel left out.  It's like a big inside joke that I'm not in on.  This game, however, offers a simple, almost naive approach to gaming.  It's like a modern day Snood.  And that's something that I can get behind.  So, go ahead, wildcats, waste your time with Mr. West in Kanye Zone.

xo kate

I'm thinking of getting bangs.

Tuesday Loseday: It smells like marshmellows

'Strange Addiction' Keeps Getting Stranger

Dear Kate, I'm glad you came.

Oh hey Kate! Happy Birthday!

We may have had a love/hate relationship with Wellesley College, but one thing is for sure: welovetheychuters.  And I'm so glad you came to Wellesley and into my life.  

Thank you for being in my life. Thank you making it better. Thank you for the hummus dates. The Pirate Club.  The Sox games. The Pats passion. The Ups.  And the Downs.  Texts during Gossip Girl.

Listening. Talking. Joking. Laughing. The bump-it.  My weird steering wheel. The Harp. The bench story. Oz.  90210 day.  Camp Cody for Boys. Hating both Peyton Manning and Peyton Sawyer. Lactose intolerance. Planking in Boston. All black Sox caps. The dance move with the foot kick. 

My universe wouldn't be the same.  I'm glad you came.

Happy happy happy Birthday!

In the wolfpack: William Faulkner

"She loved, had a capacity to love, for love, to give and accept love.  Only she tried twice and failed twice to find somebody not just strong enough to deserve it, earn it, match it, but even brave enough to accept it."

Your weekend.

Who's in your wolfpack?

Dear Danielle

Today you turn thirty.

It's not clear what happens when this all burn out.

You are here...

I miss this view.

...and I am here.

But this one is nice too.

I am currently 443 miles away, but I really would walk the 5 days and 15 hours google tells me it would take to get to you if I could.

And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.

I'd buy you some of these...

Bianca is my favorite.
It's the only thing Serena and I have in common.

...make you one of these...

And you know it would be epic.  Once upon a time
I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart.

...bake you some of these.

Sugar free, of course.

We'd listen to this...

...or this...

...while eating this...

I'd let you get all the flavors cuz it's your birthday. 

...or this...

Probably not homemade on account of the fire.

...or these.

Turns out everyone likes them.

I'd take you here...

To hang with Clooney and the gang.

...or here.

To see Pauly D and Clinton Sparks. 

So we could do this...

I'd make this face the whole time.  I wouldn't get many dates, but you would laugh.

...or this...

Our thighs would totes be that skinny.

...and a little of this...

Bottle service, bitches.

...or even, just this.

My favorite thing to do with you.

I miss you all the time and wish that you would please just move to DC already.  I can't tell you how sad I am that I don't get to celebrate with you today.  This planet has been better off for the last thirty years that you've been on it.  I hope that in my absence you take the time to celebrate fabulous, inspiring, phenomenal you.

And then, do a little of this...

You deserve it.  And you look damn good doing it.

Happy 30th, Ms. Festino.  I love you more than Disney musicals and fancy shoes.

xo kate

RHOD

I'm actually sort of shocked that we didn't already come up with this idea before SNL.  We're really falling down on the job of Disney-related humor.


xo kate

Well played.

The last days of my twenties

I'm turning thirty next week.

Yep. I'm horrified too. And thus, I'm stocking up on retinol, vitamin d, and fish oil.  I'm also hoping to buy that neat meatloaf magic thing, but that is neither here nor there...

A friend told me that now is the time to take pause and reflect on the journey that was my twenties;  I should think about how I've grown, changed, and found my true self.

Hrmph. That sounded dull and cliche, so instead I just putzed around on Facebook and stumbled upon this gem on Melissa's page...

They say that a picture worth a thousand words, and I think this shot, taken around the time of my 21st birthday, sums it alllll up.  Wouldn't you agree?

So let's just crack on, shall we?  Ready or not, thirty--here I come. 

until next year...

One last time, Happy Birthday, Doctor.

Its-a-nice-a-place.

This has always made me smile.  Happy Friday from me and Joe Dolce and the creepy/awesome accordion player.

A person's a person no matter how small.

Dr. Seuss is one of two authors that made me love to read.  (The other was Roald Dahl.)  I struggled to learn to read -- I was a low reader through first and second grade -- but when I got it, when it clicked, I read everything.  And I haven't really stopped since.  Loving to read has changed the course of my life and currently I spend my days, largely, trying to convince 23 second graders to love to read as much as I do, because I know it will change their lives too.  Thankfully, I have Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl and Jon Scieszka and James Marshall and Giles Andreae and about a thousand other fantastic authors to help me along the way.

In a crowd of giants, Dr. Seuss stands the tallest to me.  I love him, not just because Green Eggs and Ham is inspired by my hometown -- Hanover, New Hampshire -- but because his wit and humanity shines through in all his writing.  Dr. Seuss teaches us to care about our environment, not to be racist, to believe in our dreams and to love the people around us.  Today would have been Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday and is a holiday in hundreds of thousands of school across America.  In my classroom, we'll be eating green eggs and ham (technically turkey bacon because I'm not allow to serve ham to students) and talking about our favorite books.  For those of you who don't spend the day with seven and eight year olds, here's an opportunity for you to celebrate at your desks with the wise words of the great doctor.

xo kate

On a scale of one to making eye contact with a stranger while eating a banana. And winking...

...How awkward would it be if I started wearing these around?

xo kate