pensieve.me

The original McDreamySteamy

In related medical tv drama news, did you hear that my soulmate is returning for the final episodes of ER?

I'm just a wealth of information, folks...a vast fortune.  ;)

Source 

Grey's Anatomy--educational programming?

Watching "Grey's Anatomy" is a guilty pleasure for me; half the time I'm lauding a Dr. Bailey diatribe or swooning over McDreamy when he tilts his head and gives The Look, but the rest of the time I'm ready to take a baseball bat to the television.

If you're a fan, you know The Look about which I speak; but I think you have to be female to understand it...penetrating baby blues with the heat and compassion to melt Antarctica.  S i g h.

Anyways....

The past couple of weeks I've actually learned something from the show...a few somethings, as a matter of fact.  I thought it of value to pass along to you, just in case you a) think the show is little more than the devil's handiwork, or b) are bored to tears with another far-fetched medical drama, when you prefer the reality of say, "House".

Pensieve's Top 10 Observations & Lessons Learned from Grey's Anatomy

1. If you see dead people, you're sick.
2. If you see dead people and have conversation with them, you're really sick.
3. If you see dead people, have conversation with them, AND engage in "mind-blowing" intimate contact?  You'd better check your contract because they might just be writing you off the show.
4. If a character is really strong Denny, don't kill him off.  Writer-buyer's remorse is never a fan favorite (suddenly Bobby Ewing is coming to mind--any Dallas fans in the house?).
5. For one of the first times evah, I can identify with Meredith Grey--having compassion for a serial killer isn't popular.
6. Eric Stoltz should earn a Oscar Tony Grammy Emmy for his portrayal of William, a death row inmate confined to a bed for most of three episodes, until he walks into the death chamber in the last frame. 
7. McSteamy got what he deserved for sleeping around with every skirt in the hospital--a p-nile fracture (misspelled on purpose to divert the scary googlers)!  Talk about consequences & karma biting!  YIKES! 
8. Hospital dramas lurve looking for rare, awkward, never-heard-of-before diseases and maladies.  I wondered how many people googled the affliction in #7 to see if it was for real.  Sweet mercy, it IS and I learned four other interesting facts about the male anatomy.  I safe-searched on Web-MD 'cause goodness gracious I didn't want my laptop catching a disease!
9. Organ transplant is the most sweetly-bitter of medical procedures; one losing his life so another might live. 
10. When you need to cry your eyes out, your BFF knows just what you need and gives it to ya.

Thoughts?  Dissention?  Agreement?  Indifference?  Hit comments and blast off!

Postscript:  Hehe...one of my twitter followers basically dared me to blog about #8; I just couldn't let that challenge pass.  :)

Devine's Illumination

Darkness reigns
in hollowed chambers,
a stony heart
replaced by softened flesh.
Light-diffusing Life.

 

My offering for Laura's weekly poetic challenge.  Click to learn more & to submit your own poem!

What's YOUR pledge? Be the change that you seek!

Action speaks louder than words, but thinking about it and then talking about it, are the natural precursors to doing it.

Regardless of the "it".

In spite of my arrogant, judgmental attitude that little "good" comes out of Hollywood, I liked this video.  It's inspiring.  It's challenging.  And maybe, just maybe, some people will actually follow through with their "pledges", and won't that be a great thing? 

After you watch it, what pledges are most memorable? Are you inspired to make your own pledge? I'd love to hear your thoughts (good, bad or indifferent).

Memorable to me?

To be the voice for those who have no voice.
To consider myself an American, not an African-American
To always find the humor in everything.
To show more love to strangers.
To meet my neighbors.
To consume less and cultivate more.
To flush only after a deuce, never a single.
To sell a culture of intelligence instead of ignorance.
To commit to my own change before I ask others to change.

What's your pledge?

HT: The Bloggess

Walkin' on air

Walnut Street Bridge, Chattanooga, TN. December 2008.  A trip to Chattanooga's North Shore must include a walk on this pedestrian bridge, closed to vehicular traffic in 1978.  The literal bird's eye view of the Tennessee River, Bluff View Arts district on one end, shops on Frazier Avenue and Coolidge Park awaiting the other, there's something fun to do from here to there and everywhere in between!

Wordless Wednesdays

Inaugural invocation

Where was I when Rick Warren gave the historic inaugural invocation today?  Frustrated...in my car...racing to get home.  Never before have I been so interested in watching this every-four-year event.  Tied up until 11:50 a.m., I tuned my car's radio dial to NPR just in time to hear Joe Biden take the Vice Presidential oath.

At this moment, I'm particularly happy for the internet; I was able to find in just a few keystrokes both a video of the invocation and a transcript of Warren's prayer.   In case you're looking for one or both, enjoy--

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.

History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

HT to Ted Olsen @ Christianity Today for the prayer transcript.

To Honor and Remember...

Read this.  Stick with it til the end.

Makes me wanna shout this !

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" has become an annual tradition for me on MLK, Jr. Day.  I don't remember reading this in school, but it's powerful.  Martin Luther King is often remembered only for his "I have a dream" speech...but this letter, imho, is even more inspiring and compelling...and convicting.  Oh, how far we've come...oh, how much farther there is to go....

(* originally posted on my former blog.)

Why TypePad?

Occasionally bloggers question why I use TypePad versus Blogger, WordPress or lesser-known platforms.  It's important to know I'm tech-impaired, so processing the value of each comes painfully slow.

Like many, I used Blogger when I started writing for PENSIEVE for the same reason as most people--it was FREE!  I wasn't sure how long-term my blogging interest would remain, so I certainly didn't want to pay for it.

After a year, and at the time, frustration, aggravation and inconsistencies with Blogger, it was time to move on; I weighed the benefits of TypePad and WordPress.  My choice boiled down to my perception that WordPress would require more knowledge to manipulate, and TypePad was user-friendly from the get-go.

Now almost two years later, these are my top reasons you might want to consider Typepad for your next blogging platform:

• Fabulous customer support.  I was shocked when a REAL person from Typepad/Six Apart saw a tweet of mine on twitter asking for help with a problem and responded within minutes.  This is reason enough to choose Typepad imho:).  Users also can submit "help tickets" and someone in customer service will respond in hours. 
• User friendly.  I have found that to be true.  Without any tutorials, you can navigate Typepad with relative ease; if you have questions, they have a query bank that answers most everything.
• Tons of free design templates.  If you aren't in a position to pay for custom, Typepad has a variety of pre-made templates; and for those of you with just a little savvy, you can easily change the header. 
• Easy photo uploads.  Choose from standard or custom sizes and whether or not to wrap text around the image.
• Commenting ease.  If you feel the need to add word verification, it's available (personal opinion? VERY few people actually need it and it's a hassle for your commenter...but I digress....).  Typepad's SPAM controls are effective; VERY few undesirable comments make their way through. 
• View post in both rich text and html mode.  Even if you know only basic html language, this is helpful when you need it.
• Categories.  When I left Blogger, post categories weren't an option.  As far as I know, most major platforms do allow them now.
• Sidebar manipulation.  Add widgets, links, lists, text and images easily (which reminds me...mine could use some major TLC right now!).
• Unlimited blogs with premium account.  You can add additional authors but I'm not sure at which level this is allowed.

While there are other things to consider when choosing your hosted platform (or whether or not to use a hosted platform at all!), I've been consistently pleased with Typepad's performance almost two years into our "relationship".  

There is one feature I'd like to see not currently offered:  numbered comments.  Anyone who's hosted a giveaway can give me an "AMEN!" on that!  Typepad/SIX APART...DO YOU HEAR ME???

What platform do you use?  Are you completely satisfied or shopping around?  What features are most important to you?  If you've blogged on several platforms, what thoughts can you add to mine?

Wordsmith cluster

"I saw your picture this morning," said an acquaintance at church yesterday.

Me, confused, "WHERE?"

"In the paper, front page of "Diversions" section, BIG picture, above the fold." We got home, I rifled through the unread Sunday tome, and shazaam!  She wasn't exaggerating!

That's me far left (looking ridiculously serious, clearly a glitch in the photographer's timing!), wearing the eggplant sweater-that-I-love, drinking a steamy caramel macchiato I love more, cradling the Macbook I love most!

The first time I've ever attended a writer's group, it won't be the last.  It was fun sitting around a group of writers--published and aspiring--just to talk shop.  A n d, it gave me the idea of starting a local bloggers group with the same goal in mind--a collaborative conversation among those who speak "blog" (which we ALL know is BOR-ING for the Unbelivers ;) ). 

Are you currently part of a writer's group?  Do you have experience about what works and what doesn't?  What about a local blogger's group?  If I began one, do you have suggestions for getting started?  I'd love any and all ideas, even if they come in the form of questions!

Eavesdropping

Overheard while in a dressing room, trying on the cutest Sweet Pea by Stacy Frati top--

Woman 1:  "It's black.  Anything can go over black.  It's a law.  I'm sure it's written somewhere."

Woman 2: {{giggles in agreement}}

(So did I.)

Woman 1:  "Look at this (obviously reading the tag)--"One Free World, made in China...now that's irony for ya!"

Woman 2:  {{snorts in agreement}}

(me, too)

When I left the dressing room, I looked in the direction of the voices and laughter; turns out, it was a mother-daughter combo, the daughter was in her early 20s.  They clearly were having fun trying on clothes, and it made me smile and anticipate with eagerness shopping trips with my daughter in a few years.

They looked in my direction as I said, "I couldn't help eavesdropping on your conversation.  Y'all were cracking me up!"

They just smiled "ready" smiles.  I'm almost certain they were happy to spread a little joy my way :).