January 28, 2010 by Patti B.
It is now 5 days until Lost returns! After months and months of waiting, more island goodness is on its way. Sure, it’s just a TV show – but like any great form of entertainment, there’s a few lessons sprinkled here and there for all of us. Some are fun, some are more serious, but each one of these represents a memorable moment.
- Jesus Christ is NOT a weapon. Uttered by Hurley’s Mom, this is still my all-time favorite line. I think it’s a little profound if you think about people who try to force their beliefs on someone else, no matter what those beliefs are. I guess a corollary to that would be the Virgin Mary is not for smuggling drugs, Mr. Eko!
- Medusa spiders can, in fact, kill you. Poor Nikki and Paulo found this out the hard way when they were paralyzed and buried alive just before they would’ve woken up.
- You make your own luck. Hurley’s Dad reminded him of this when he found out Hurley was convinced the numbers he played to win the lottery were actually cursed. I have always believed this, though it doesn’t stop me from looking for four-leaf clovers and wishing on stars!
- Counting to five really can help. Jack told a story to Kate about how he did this when he was afraid and it did the trick for him. I tend to use it more when I’m angry, but it just reminds me to take a break if I get overwhelmed. Good advice, Jack, even if it did originally come from your boozer father.
- Dead really is dead. Some Lost fans will debate me on this, but death is something even the island can’t cure. That doesn’t stop the dead from coming around now and again, as Hurley and Miles will tell you.
- Cowboys aren’t the only ones with Daddy issues. It seems like every character on this show has some kind of Daddy issues, and confronting them sure has made for some riveting moments. Sawyer’s last conversation with Cooper (who he blamed for his Dad’s death) and Claire meeting her real father are just a couple.
- Home is not just a place. Rose and Bernard are fine anywhere as long as they have each other. The old beach camp (Magic Tarp City) was great too, and who can forget Otherville. In every case, it’s the people who made these locales home for the Losties.
- Be very, very careful what you wish for. Sawyer wanted more than anything to meet the man who killed his parents. Jack just wanted to bury his father. Paraphrasing Dr. Phil, how’d that work for ya, boys?
I hope you enjoyed my list. What have you learned from Lost, or your favorite TV show, movie, or song? Please post here and let me know!
For more Losty bits, try:
Posted in Life, Lost | Tagged learn, Lost | Leave a Comment »
January 26, 2010 by Patti B.
Valentine’s Day is coming up. This year, I choose to celebrate kindness. I was partially inspired by One Million Acts of Kindness, a blog by Bob (and his dog Bogart – don’t want to forget our animal friends!) that poses each person can have a goal of doing one million acts of kindness over their lifetime. This is a lofty goal, to be sure, but a great one nonetheless. To this end, I have come up with little things you or I can do to get started:
- Hold the door for someone whose hands are full.
- Offer some leftovers to the neighbors.
- Tell a friend how great they look in that outfit or haircut.
- Send a “thinking of you” card or postcard to someone you haven’t seen in a while.
- Leave cards anywhere with little quotes or phrases on them, like “You’re an amazing person!” or “Enjoy the day!”
- Make dinner and do the dishes for you’re spouse/significant other – just because.
- Call your Mom, Dad or child and ask how it’s going.
- Silently bless everyone you meet today – not just when they sneeze.
As you can see, most of these don’t cost a lot of money, just your time and attention. Why not try one today, and another tomorrow? Do you have some interesting or funny stories about how someone was kind to you, or what you did for someone else? Please post it here and inspire the rest of us!
For further inspiration:
Posted in 8 things | Tagged goals, kindness, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
January 20, 2010 by Patti B.
My son recently declared he is “100% evil.” I don’t know where he got this, but the math doesn’t really add up. If he were 100% evil, that would mean I, as his mother, was 50% evil at the most. Depending on who you ask, this is not true – I’m either way under or way over the limit. His dad, then, would have to be 50% evil or more. I won’t comment on that part of the equation. So, it’s safe to say that, in all liklihood, he’s exaggerating.
That night, I turned on the TV, hoping to be distracted from my aching body, fever, and churning stomach. The movie that was on was The Omen (2006).
The movie gods have to be laughing hysterically!
Posted in Kids | Tagged Family, Life, The Omen | Leave a Comment »
January 10, 2010 by Patti B.
We are visual people. We like to see things – TV shows, movies, even each other. It’s the assumptions we make about what we see, or what we think others see, that sometimes get us into trouble.
Take Harry Reid’s widely reported comments about then-Presidential Candidate Obama in John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s book “Game Change.” Part of what got to me about this was not only that Senator Reid thought the President was more politically marketable because of his appearance, but he was making assumptions about what the American people would see, and what we think about what we see, based on assumptions we make on a daily basis because of how someone looks. I agree with George Will that unfortunately, no matter how bad it sounds, Senator Reid is onto something.
Despite the fact it’s wrong, we make judgments and assumptions about people’s looks all the time. If someone looks thin, we might assume they are fit and take good care of themselves. If they look fat to us, we may assume the opposite. If we think someone looks young, we may assume they don’t have the capability or intelligence to do certain jobs or handle certain situations. All of these assumptions are superficial and, many times, incorrect. When you add someone’s race to the attributes we make unfair assumptions about, almost nobody wins. However, I think it is just as tragic to expect that other people are going to make certain prejudicial assumptions, no matter how incorrect they are. In a way, it’s perpetuating the very stereotypes we’re so against.
All that said, I do have a lot of hope for the future. Last year, during the week of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, my son told me he thought it was stupid to exclude people just because of the color of their skin. He was eight at the time, and he’s a visual person too.
Fortunately for all of us, there’s more than one kind of sight. Because of this, maybe we can expect better of ourselves and each other.
Posted in Politics | Tagged President Obama, race, Senator Harry Reid | Leave a Comment »
January 1, 2010 by Patti B.
I know it’s not Thursday, it’s Friday, and I only have 5 things (see “8 Things Thursdays“). Well, it’s my list, and I can truncate if I want to. I felt inspired to put this together for a while, and hopefully, it’s a good one.
- More time with my kids. For a divorced parent, this can be hard. Fortunately, I’ve gotten to the point where I can negotiate this on a fairly regular basis. We used to have a schedule, but seasonal events and sports need to be scheduled around. Nonetheless, I firmly believe in the saying that no one ever got to the end of their life and wished they had spent more time at work.
- No more reality shows. I take my TV pretty seriously. Network executives don’t. Either I have poorer taste than the average viewer, or much better taste – I don’t know. What I do know is what’s cheaper and easier for the powers that be is boring the hell out of me.
- A regular exercise schedule. I know what you’re thinking – this isn’t a wish as much as a goal. You’re right, but I didn’t think I could come up with 8 reasonable goals. I do think I found a solution to this one, however. One of the morning news shows suggested I park fifteen minutes away from work. That way, I can have a fifteen-minute walk in the morning, and one in the evening. I might try that.
- World peace for everyone. This is one of those things that tends to show up on everybody’s list. At first, I thought this is something I don’t have much control over. There are steps I can take now. Fighting less with my Mom is one. I’ll try that as soon as she’s done being a shrew.
- More real-life connections. I was going to call this one “More Friends.” I didn’t because I didn’t want to limit myself. I tend to become a hermit now and then. Less income will do that to you. However, I feel like I need to branch out and find more people out in the world with similar interests. Not all of these will become life-long pals, but that’s okay.
Well, what do you think about it? What are your wishes for the new year? Comment here or send your suggestions to pbagadion@gmail.com.
If you’d like more inspiration, try these:
Posted in Life | Tagged connections, exercise, Kids, New Year | 2 Comments »
