Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

I love the Under 30 series in TED Talks.  Sarah Kay is fantastic and I want to be her friend.  I think the way that she talks about poetry is the way that we feel (or hope to feel) about our passions; they help us make sense of the world and, as we learn more and know more, become the backpack of tools we bring to discover more about what we don't know.



I want to meet Charlotte, the student who wrote that Anderson Cooper is a gorgeous man.  And Sarah Kay, the teacher who let her.

xo kate

"Basically, I absolutely love being a woman." - MKA

I know that I've mentioned here before how much I love TED Talks.  I don't watch them all, or even as much as I should, but every time that I do I'm entertained, I learn something new and, maybe most importantly, the talks stick with me -- I continue to think about them long after they are over.

This week, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (Wellesley '59) talks about the role of women and women's issues in diplomacy.  I'm a proud Democrat, woman and Wellesley alum, and as such, a huge fan of Secretary Albright, or Maddie as I like to call her.  But even if you're not, I think that you'll appreciate her frankness, fashion sense, humor and intellect in this conversation with Pat Mitchell.

My favorite quote is, "It doesn't mean that the whole world would be better if it were run only by women.  If you think that, you've forgotten high school."

Speaking of why it's absolutely fabulous to be a woman, one of my favorite shopping sites, ModCloth is having a huge sale right now.  I just brought two dresses for under $30 -- check it out now, wildcats.

xo kate

Showing up and Having Genius

I never read Eat, Pray, Love.  I know, I know, how could I even consider myself an American woman without partaking in this particular literary fad?  Meh, I just didn't really have any interested.  I did watch the movie, under some duress from my sister.  I thought it was okay, but the whole time I was just thinking that Julia Roberts doesn't really need to find herself.  She's Julia f-ing Roberts.  (Which is a problem in general with actors and celebrity culture -- at a certain point the celebrity takes over and the actor gets lost.  I'm so familiar with Julia Roberts, the celebrity, that she's lost the ability to convince me that she's anything but a celebrity.  I don't believe her as the characters that she plays anymore.  But I digress.) 

So, when my BFAM (brother from another mother, for those of you who don't keep up with my slang) suggested that I watch Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk, I was somewhat reluctant.  As well as totally shocked that he was into it -- he didn't want to watch the movie either. But, since we had a half hour to kill, I indulged him.  And as it turned out, it was a really great talk.  Ms. Gilbert is a compelling speaker; she speaks in a way that reminds me of my favorite teachers -- building and scaffolding questions, anecdotes, and evidence around her central purpose.  Also, though, I'm completely intrigued by her idea of the pressure of creative genius and questioning the way individuals handle that pressure.  Gilbert looks to ancient Greece and Rome for ideas about how to escape the narcism and fear that surrounds the notion of being a genius.  Looking to these societies, she discovers that we can think about genius as something you are, or -- perhaps more realistically -- as something you have.  Rather than be crushed by the enormous weight of genius, she suggests that we show up, and work as hard as we can at our part.

All this is to say, it's worth 20 minutes of your time to watch her talk.

xo kate