More than a sad story

Few celebrities engage in causes in ways that are not just meaningful, but smart and insightful. Bono comes to mind, of course, but the list is pretty short.

Now, after watching footage of Angelina Jolie being interviewed by the New York Times' Nick Kristof at the Clinton Global Initiative last night, I'm adding her to my list. Her story is gut-wrenching and compelling, yes -- but what got me is how, at the very last moment, she took it beyond the sob story to call for real, lasting solutions. Check it out:

"He's a great kid, and these are great people, and...
We need to help them be doctors."
-Angelina Jolie

Hat tip, Jezebel.

Eeek!

And the countdown begins: I leave for Turkey exactly one week from today!

Itinerary is all set, hostels are reserved... though I've only learned a word or two of Turkish so far, I plan on getting the basics down (please, thank you, where's the bathroom, no you can't be my Turkish boyfriend / husband) between now and when I land in Istanbul. My sister's coworker taught her a phrase which we thought meant "Warning - school bus!" but as it turns out it actually means "Beware of dog." Well, if I hear it at least I'll know to get out of something's way :-)

And even though my mother thinks I'm nuts, one of the two pairs of shoes I plan on packing will be for running. Though I suspect many of you in blogland aren't surprised in the least!

Anyway, the days are pretty packed between now and then, so time should fly quickly... but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little nervous!

International Day of Peace

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the International Day of Peace. Something to think about always, but in these times especially...

"There is nothing easier than lopping off heads and nothing harder than developing ideas."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rigging the system

I once interned at an organization that does high-profile work promoting democracies around the world. To this day, people always ask me why it doesn't monitor elections back home in the U.S. The short answer: because our system is so f--ed up, they wouldn't even know where to start. It's simply not possible to verify an election in a country whose system doesn't meet the minimum standards of fairness and standardization required of other countries (by international institutions and governments, including our own).

Embarrassing, isn't it?

The idea that caucus-goers in Iowa or primary voters in New Hampshire somehow matter more than I do... or that I and the nearly 40% of Texas residents who voted for Kerry in 2004 might as well have stayed home... or that the 2000 election hinged on a few stray chits in Florida and the abdication of the Supreme Court to Shrub & Co... Well, you get the picture. Don't even get me started on the voting machines.

And now this: a group of Republican lawyers wants to allocate electoral college votes in proportion to the popular vote -- BUT ONLY IN CALIFORNIA. See, California usually goes blue, but the actual vote tallies tell a more nuanced story. Just like Texas is only part-red, and Ohio doesn't really know what it is, and on and on.

Don't get me wrong; I think the electoral college is as ridiculous as the next person. But while they're talking fairness, what they really mean is 'more votes for Republicans!' That's not reform, it's a shameless power grab. (And if the Democrats did it, I'd say the exact same thing.)

Does the electoral system in this country need a major overhaul? Absolutely. On February 5, 2008, let's have the Super-duper-est Tuesday of them all. Let's invite everyone to the party. Forget about blue states and red states; let's color outside the lines.

But don't you dare try to steal my crayon.

Who knew

That there are crawfish in Central Park?

I was walking along the Harlem Meer this morning, minding my own business, when I saw a little critter meander across my path. I looked down, and saw something that looked a lot like this:


I did a double-take! I stopped and stared at him, and he stopped and stared at me. He waved his claws around menacingly like some wee crustacean ninja. "Calm down, buddy," I thought, "I don't want to eat you!" I smiled to myself and shook my head in disbelief, and we both went on our merry little way.

Like bad hair days

There are bad running days. Wednesday's Fartlek workout with the gang was pretty perfect. As Coach Sponge pointed out in a subsequent email, I tucked right into the fast group and let them pull me along through most of the workout. My legs definitely protested when I pulled in the final kick on Cat Hill, but not a moment sooner; mostly I felt strong and very in control of my form and my pace. I've got my eye on the Fifth Avenue Mile at the end of the month, so it's taking some readjusting of my mindset in preparation for the shorter distance, but I think I can do it.

This morning, though, was another story. I walked the short (yaay! seriously, this does not get old) distance from my apartment to Central Park before I started running. My legs were stiff at the start but this is usually the case on my early runs -- I'd only been awake for, oh, 20 minutes, and have I mentioned I'm not naturally an early riser? Halfway through the run, though, they still didn't feel any better. And though my pace (8:47) didn't show it, I struggled to drag them along for the entire distance. Meh.

What's got me a little worried is that just a few hundred meters short of the finish I felt a sudden, unpleasant twinge in my left knee. I stopped for a moment to wiggle it out and was able to finish just fine, but it's been a little sensitive all day. I've always had to be careful with it since I dislocated it (twice, and nearly a third time) many years ago, but it hasn't given me trouble in a while... it's probably just being cranky, but I'll have to be mindful nonetheless. I bet it didn't help that last weekend's 13-miler to Brooklyn pushed me way over my weekly mileage (to 38, and much of it on concrete), so I'm looking forward to a weekend of nothing but soft dirt and trails.

An another note, I may have found a 10k to run in Istanbul next month, on the last day I'm in Turkey. Yaay! Let's hope the race organizer understood the email I just sent him, since the only phrase I know in Turkish is of the silly, useless variety...

I'm in heaven right now

I'm sitting in my room in my awesome new apartment,

relaxing after a tough but great Fartlek workout with the best running club ever,

playing with my brand new Boston Acoustics Recepter Radio (delivered today),

listening to my new favorite public radio program -- the challenging, sometimes weird but always very, very cool New Sounds on WNYC. Right now they're playing some very percussive, fast zither piece, before that a beautiful, ethereal contemporary vocal performance...


... and it all sounds AMAZING.

I am one happy audiophile :-)

And speaking of the joys of combining my favorite things: some photos of one of many afternoons this summer spent dancing, looking at art, drinking good beer and chilling out at P.S. 1. Truly my favorite thing to do in the summer -- I can't wait for next year!