The NEF argues we need to achieve truly happy lives, we need to challenge social norms and reset the industrial clock ticking in our heads. It sees the 21-hour week as integral to this for two reasons: it will redistribute paid work, offering the hope of a more equal society (right now too many are overworked, or underemployed). At the same time, it would give us all time for the things we value but rarely have time to do well such as care for our family, travel, read or continue learning (as opposed to feeding consumerism).
Posted by Clicksy | Posted in My blog | Posted on 07-01-2012
There was a 2005 movie by Searchlight called The Ringer. The movie is about Johnny Knoxville’s character trying to rig the Special Olympics. I wouldn’t say it’s a horrible movie, there were a few good spots. My favorite was when Knoxville confesses what he’s trying to do to a Priest, the Priest punches him… who wouldn’t want to punch Johnny Knoxville, right? We got it because we like Searchlight movies, they’re kind of kin to after school specials. They tackle a lot of different subjects that mainstream movies don’t bother with. We also heard they used mentally disabled actors, which is pretty cool. Needless to say, their performances out shined Knoxville’s by far.
We watched it again the other day and it got me thinking about my time working with the disabled, and more specifically, the Special Olympics.
I’ve done a post about my superstars, people that have achieved fame by doing some amazing and unique things. Now I’m going to write about my heroes, which I see more as people who have qualities I admire. Nobody’s perfect, but these people spend every day doing amazing things that are very unappreciated in our society. Yet, without them, we wouldn’t have much of a society at all.
Oh I was in a bad mood today. I was all excited last night because I didn’t have to take my cold medicine, I thought the worst was over. I had forgotten what happens at the end of a cold… I started hacking this morning. Long story short, I had a coughing fit and re-injured my shoulder, which had just healed a week or two ago. Then the grumbling began…
I’d like some feedback on email updates and registering. I added the little subscribe button to the right rail. But it doesn’t work unless I require people to register to comment. I’ve always preferred allowing anyone access to comments without registering, but now it’s coming at a cost to the people who want more usability. If you have an opinion, please take a moment to vote on this issue.
As a reminder, I do have a Facebook page here. I’ll add periodic updates, but as I gain more authors, it’s unlikely I’ll update it for every single new post. Please click ‘like’ there if you want to get updates to your Facebook wall.
I love the simplicity of the wordpress blog format, but because I’m not a code person, there are some bugs on this site that drive me crazy. First, notice the two “Home” buttons on the top right of the page. This is a common problem, but none of the fixes I’ve found online work for this theme. (FIXED!!!) Another problem is the category posting. If you click a category, it’s supposed to give you a ‘summary’ of the posts. That way you can click ‘read more’ if you want to read the rest. But it’s never worked right, it always shows the entire posts instead of a summary… so people click read more and uh… there’s no more. The only benefit to it is you can view the long form comments. I’ll look into changing the theme soon, unless there’s some code whiz out there that wants to give these bugs the boot or I somehow manage to figure them out myself. (FIXED!!!)
I’ve taken a couple of days off from posting. Let’s just say my site isn’t the only one with bugs… I’ll get back to it soon enough.
Those of us that don’t have kids often talk about our pets as our children. Here’s a picture of our dog Sam a couple of years ago:
We always had a bent on shelter dogs. But when my father-in-law was ill, I made him a promise that when he got better, we’d get him a puppy. I had no idea what we were getting into!
That’s not to say that Sam wasn’t a great puppy. We chose a lab because they’re very active, and in turn would keep us active. Many people think their labs are ‘bad’. But usually, they’re just bored. They need engagement, attention, and most importantly, exercise. EVERY DAY! I could go off on a rant here, but I’ll save it for another day.
You might be wondering why I start all my posts with “My”. Perspective is such a subtle concept and we rarely think about it. But it’s how we see the world. It shapes our opinions and ideas. We know that if we were born in another time or another place, our perspective would be extremely different. Even so, we usually trust our perspective and don’t think much about questioning it.
I mentioned before that I very possibly had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a child, and I only recently found out. I decided tonight, it’s a good thing that I didn’t know. As a child and young adult, I pushed myself, and my family and doctors encouraged me to try and live a somewhat normal life. If I knew I had RA, I don’t know if it would have worked out that way. So many wonderful experiences may not have happened. I may not have found my husband. I may not have met all of the fantastic people that I’ve worked with. At this point in my life, I’m more equipped to handle these imposed limitations, as well as the bleak picture my doctors paint. As a child, perhaps it would have distorted my perceptions as to what I’m capable of and what I could accomplish.
In fact, if I only had a few weeks or months to live, I don’t think I would want to know. I would much rather take each day as what it is, a blessing and a gift. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.
Some of the videos I’ve watched online lately focus on what people wanted to be when they were kids, and how most of us don’t strive for that once we reach adulthood. We’re happy with our 9 to 5, especially if that 9 to 5 includes a cause. Or we’re unhappy, but we live life for the weekends. But what most of us don’t do is strive for something more. We’re convinced we have these major limitations and believe it’s crazy to think we can do something big.
These videos encouraged me to start thinking about who and what I wanted to be when I was a kid. My superstars were 80′s pop singers: Madonna, Cindy Lauper, Michael Jackson. I wanted to be a superstar, because superstars had the power to change the world. As I reached my teens, I wasn’t so impressed with singers and pop stars. I started learning more about scholars. Later, the Internet came about. That’s when I met my real superstars. Below are a few examples as well as some fantastic and inspiring videos.
Being in a goofy mood last night, my mind took some very strange turns on it’s path to sleep. I began thinking about this funny rheumatoid arthritis (RA) page someone linked on the DailyStrength forums. You’ve seen this type of article before, “You know you have/are ** when”. Then I started thinking about the “Love Connection” and all those cheesy dating shows I watched as a kid. How would these shows have gone if they introduced people based on their medical issues? (please note that I am not Tina!)
My love connection
Chuck Woolery: She’s a 28 year old RA patient who enjoys range of motion exercises, chatting on health related forums, and wearing pajamas every day. Let’s meet Tina!
