“I Used Only the Good Notes”: How Jack Black Smacked Me Into Holiday Shape

I sank into my precious recliner and asked Mick for “the clicker.”

Having control of the remote control is control I rarely have.

My Thanksgiving visitors were gone, I had just remade all the beds and done several loads of laundry and I needed a break. So I channel-surfed.  And surfed.  I have cable TV and couldn’t find one program I wanted to watch.  So I compromised my principals and began watching the middle of a movie I only somewhat like.

“The Holiday” was getting bashed over and over by my cranky thought process and I almost gave up on the television watching altogether.

“Jude Law is mostly convincing but is paired with Cameron Diaz who is entirely unconvincing. Kate Winslet is fairly good, but is paired with Jack Black who is an unconvincing romantic lead. Cripes, the only true redeeming value in this movie is Eli Wallach.  Please, please let there be more of Eli and less of everyone else.”  I’m ashamed to admit that this was my truly snippy line of thought as I evaluated the value of sitting there another few moments.

But then there was a fifteen-second, truly wonderful moment with Miles and Iris.

Miles (played by Jack Black) had been working on theme music and was demonstrating his ideas to Iris (played by Kate Winslet), narrating the scenarios and emotions that accompanied his musical thoughts as he played.  He then switched into a sweet, flowing melody and told her that he wrote a theme for her.  As their demeanor changed, he added: “…and I used only the good notes.”

I was verclempt.  My throat was completely choked with emotion because at that moment, not only did Jack Black pull off “Mr. Romantic Lead,” but he gave me a thought to carry throughout this entire Holiday Season.

I want to use “only the good notes” for those I care about…as I chose my Christmas gifts, as I budget the precious time I have off work between semesters and as I think about how to acknowledge those I love.

“Only the good notes” is not always what I have in mind when I think about “getting through” the holidays.  Yet, “only the good notes” is a wonderful frame for me to reconsider how I approach them.

So today, I’m wishing you a melody for your heart that you can pass on to others in your life…with only the good notes, delivered carefully and purely to their destination.

Love,

[kelly]

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Vulnerable and Human, Kevin Durant is Doing the Happy Dance

Kevin Durant’s Twitter account has been an open window into his emotional soul these past twelve hours.

10:00 p.m., he knows something is going down:

“My thoughts racing, I need to sip some wine to calm them down a lil bit! Suggestions?”

When the news broke, approximately 3:00 a.m.(ish), he’s scared to believe it:

“If this is true I am Bouta go wake my mom n grandma up and put on a suit and thunder hat and cry! Please be true #nbaback”

And then, reality starts to sink in while happiness hits:

“My expression now http://lockerz.com/s/159614750

Finally, not only is he starting to believe the news but an adrenaline wave of an embattled player feeling victory rushes out:

“Mannnn im bouta to get a ratchet tattoo on my ribs that say “survived the nba lockout in 2011”

He was feeling it. We’ve ALL been feeling it, but I think KD deserves to feel the victory just a little more sweetly than most. After all, he hasn’t been just a spokesperson for what he described as a “sickening situation.” He’s been ambassador.

For Kevin Durant, basketball truly never stopped. Case in point? This recently released video sponsored by Nike. A classy way to make a crystal clear point:

Second case in point? Continue reading Vulnerable and Human, Kevin Durant is Doing the Happy Dance

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Princes, Paupers, and Black Friday

Thanksgiving is about perspective and proportion.

I sat before a Thanksgiving meal this week and surveyed the sumptuous spread. I couldn’t really get my brain around it all. The easy drive down the four-lane interstate to my in-laws’, the warmth of their home, the antacids at my fingertips for post-meal relief—the ease of my life is vastly beyond comprehension.

I imagined what it would seem like if I had the ability to pluck most any person from history and insert them into my day. I imagined Abe Lincoln watching us talk on cell phones to friends and family, using dishwashers, coffee makers, refrigerators, microwaves, and two-ply toilet paper.  There would be an absence of smoke from coal ovens and fumes from kerosene lamps; the clothing would be washed free of horse smell and hair products and deodorants galore. I could show Abe the football games on television, download the Gettysburg address, or Google the medicines that would have saved his son Tad.

Princes and Paupers

We live as princes, we do. But we shop like paupers.  Need proof?  Looming behind the bountiful Thanksgiving table is the frugal frenzy of Black Friday….

After the Dallas Cowboys squeaked by the Miami Dolphins, the Black Friday sales circulars were spread out on the table.  There were deals on tools and ladders, televisions, clothing, toys, and gadgets. An hour later I was catching the fever. I was being overpowered by two strong feelings: Continue reading Princes, Paupers, and Black Friday

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Feel Weird About the Commercialism of Black Friday? Try This Idea on for Heart Size.

Reach Clothing giving away its first shirt.

I’ve always wondered why someone hadn’t taken the Tom’s Shoes idea then enhanced or expanded it into other areas.  Silly me…doubting the veracity and ingenuity of Okies, eh?

Enter: Tyson Baker, founder of Reach Clothing located in  Collinsville.  I thought perhaps for your Black Friday moment of pause, (that exists, right?) you might want to learn about a cool story.  A story cool enough to potentially guide your holiday shopping.  Here are his own words…

 In April of 2010 I heard about a third grade student who was being bullied for wearing the same shirt to school every day. Still in high school at the time, I knew bullying went on at the upper levels, but never realized it stemmed down to such a young age. Admiring the TOMS Shoes business model of “buy one, give one” I thought: Why could I not take this same simple business idea and put it to clothing to help kids in the U.S?

With 16 million children considered homeless within the U.S. and 1 out of every 3 kids projected to be bullied at some point, we are trying to break that cycle. If I can give a child a new stylish shirt to help the bullying, or a new sweatshirt to stay warm in the winter I know I am doing my job.

How Reach Clothing gives back – After every 250 shirts we sell, we then partner with local non-profits to distribute the clothing from their area. In 8 months of business we have donated 500 brand new shirts to children in need, and we have met our next goal so in December we will be donating another 250 to an OKC non-profit. I am just trying to change the world.

Our products are now in Whole Foods Market, the OKC store and the Tulsa store. We are working to place inventory in Texas stores in the upcoming month.

My last donation drop was an amazing and emotional thing for some of the volunteers at Reach Clothing. Check out the new blog about my experience there:

http://blog.reach-clothing.com/?ci=23323
(Editors note: I strongly encourage you to read the story – it’s a cool, cool thing).

Now… Another comment from me.  Is this true?  Do children get bullied because of their clothing?  As a researcher, a teacher, and as a child who was bullied at times because of her hand-me-down clothing, the answer is “yes.”  Why would children be this cruel? Continue reading Feel Weird About the Commercialism of Black Friday? Try This Idea on for Heart Size.

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