Oh Whoopi G. … yet another reason to adore you: you love children’s books, yeah!!! (aside from also loving you for so eloquently speaking your mind on that scary Gov.Palin woman …) —- well, children’s books are a much better /safer topic right now!!! I never thought I would get into the ‘Captain Underpants’ series … but: for the past few months I have been a part-time ‘nanny’ to my friend’s 8-yr-old son … and one of our favorite things to do together (actually he seems to think that’s all Aunt U. ever does …) is going to the fab store Books of Wonder and spent a very happy time browsing books (and of course having those wickedly tempting cup-cakes at the attached cafe …) - so when he picked out ‘Captain Underpants’ my high-brow eyebrows went up a little … but what a hoot! … particularly, as in a role-reversal, He is actually reading them to Me, doing the voices et al. - it’s hilarious (and I have seen many an amused smile out of the corner of my eye there…) So, my little buddy has become my ‘one-boy-focus-group’ … very helpful, as I am trying to crank out some children’s screenplays … which will probably have a hard time getting made, as alas, neither Pixar nor Harry Potter [which we do love too, don’t get me wrong here!], more like a young people’s ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ - still hoping that along with the ‘block-busters’ there might be a place for other kinds of entertainment, just like so many different cupcakes … … Anyway, in the noble pursuit of doing research, I am happily piling up the children’s and young adult books all around me, and having a good time with it … Btw . Writer/director Sherman Alexis was recently quoted in a NYTimes article as loving the Y.A. literature genre too, and his “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is excellent proof! Looking forward to more book recommendations here!

Kathy, thanks for sharing this letter … whoever Pete Hauschka is, he seems to have some insights, whereas I only had vague feeling so far … just that women like Gov. Palin scare me to death … and, yes, as he said above: “Her moral sense is simplistic and not inclusive, with a complete absence of compassion. ” … that’s exactly how she comes across from her speeches and her seeming ignorance towards the world … scary indeed to even think of more time given to ignorant leaders of limited intelligence …

… just say ‘no’ … just doesn’t seem to be working with the Palin women … and Liz, I love your take on this: “maybe this is all a wild and crazy joke, a “Saturday Night Live” skit taken to extremes…” maybe also entering “Twilight Zone” territory … on a more serious note, women like Sarah Palin scare me to death … with their absurd so-called ‘family values’, gun-toting, hunting, raising sons to be soldiers and girls to have babies and get married … ‘family values’ indeed: teen pregnancy, high-school drop-outs … I am beginning to wonder what time warp these people do live in …

… just say ‘no’ … just doesn’t seem to be working with the Palin women … on a more serious note, women like Sarah Palin scare me to death … with their absurd so-called ‘family values’, gun-toting, hunting, raising sons to be soldiers and girls (17-year old) to have babies and get married … ‘family values’ indeed … I am beginning to wonder which time warp / twilight zone we have just entered …

I think, I had the most fun evening of the summer last night: rocking out to Patti Smith playing outdoors at Lincoln Center under a perfect NYC summer sky and having people energized with her always and still powerful anthems / poetry … a friend called her ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage’ … and everyone there, on their feet, seemed to need to hear that : “People Have the Power to Redeem the Work of Fools - People Have the Power”

Oh Liz Smith, you are always so much fun! thanks for this sneak-preview … I am a huge Penelope Cruz fan (specially in Almodavar films! - have great snapshot of ‘Pedro y Penelope’ on my desktop…) and can’t wait for these two new films coming up now … and of course I’m now dying to also know who ‘Mr.MRI’ was …

Education had my vote too … the basis for anyone to survive in this world. Loved all the inspiring suggestions/stories here! My current (small) donations go to Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Human Rights Watch - and I really love the concept of the Heifer Project too! My personal Million-$s-Dream has always been to create a foundation for an international retreat center (spiritual, artistic, environmental) for mothers and children - a place to breathe, re-charge, think and play … which would also fulfill my own dream of having a big lovely house and garden full of women and children … - now I’ll go out an buy a lotto ticket …

Thanks, Tag, for mentioning FreeRice again! … weeks ago I mentioned it on another thread, and I think several contributors to this site have since joined the FreeRice community … I love that site, one of the most brilliant ideas in recent years! … I don’t go on every day, but at least a few times a week .. great education too, as English is my second language!

It was a fun/beautiful Opening Ceremony … I have always loved Zhang Yimou’s films, so this was another great achievement! … nevertheless, I have also joined the Tibetan Youth Congress in remembering Tibet and joining their declaration of 8/8 to 8/15 as Tibetan Flag Week (a flag which is not allowed to be flown in China …) and I have now the gorgeous Tibetan flag outside my window … the Tibetan community of NY and NJ had a beautiful, peaceful, meditative demonstration on Thursday night here in New York City’s Union Sq.

… that sounds like sooo much fun I have no idea where you are, but wherever: I love adventures (imaginary and otherwise) when it means discovering new places/people … and you as an artist (and neighborly person …) would love this crazy place - can’t speak for some other parts of NYC, and although I do wander around the galleries in Chelsea at times, that is often just too ‘posh’ (including the art… ), - but when I do leave this cozy neighborhood it is usually to venture up to the museums which are my favorite places in this city - just saw the most amazing Turner exhibit at the Metropolitan … there was one room where all the light sources seemed to be the pictures on the walls… freaking unbelievable … (and I am the nutty person who stands in a room full of tourists and mutters phrases like that …) but, speaking of ‘sidewalk art’ (too bad you can’t post a picture of yours!) … my little picture here is actually the sidewalk shadow of a fence an artist made for a community garden here (again: what a neighborhood!), and when I walked across those fancy shadows one day last spring, I took cellphone pictures and then ‘colorized’ on the computer …

… that sounds like sooo much fun ( I have now idea where you are, but wherever: I love adventures when it means discovering new places/people …) and you are an artist (right?!) … you would love this crazy place - can’t speak for some other parts of NYC, and although I do wander around the galleries in Chelsea at times, that is often just too ‘posh’ (including the art…), but when I do leave this cozy neighborhood it is usually to venture up to the museums which are my favorite places in this city - just saw the most amazing Turner exhibit at the Met …

toot toot, to Josie from the East Village of NYC … what a lovely tribute to your neighborhood … wish I would come walking home to your ‘side walk art’ … reading this sad story (and some of the posts) , I am really glad and grateful too, that I don’t live isolated from neighbors - glad to be in the middle of a messy, multi-culti, ‘old’ yet totally new neighborhood … even with so many changes in the past 2 decades, even with all the ‘gentrification’ it’s still neighborly - and sometime outright old-timey East Village-y … stoop sitting, stopping on the street with the groceries to talk to the laundry-lady … as well as in the old tenement building: watering each other’s plants, taking turns feeding the turtle of the ‘new’ young couple who just went off to be married in Fla. … the new downstairs neighbors (real ‘kids’) just passing thru this cafe, where everyone is ‘behind’ their computers but also everyone saying is ‘hi’, because the young Israeli guys who opened it are really neighborly and charming … city life at it’s best …

hi ki b … just love that response of yours “I like kids better than people” … happens to me all the time, sometimes I have to admit to having more fun with my friend’s kids (young adults some of them …) otherwise, I am not so sure about this topic … I feel happier in this ‘second’ half of my life (even on my own) and it seems so do most of my male friends …

Welcome. dear Elisabeth … yes, The Open Road is really really great! I just attended the Dalai Lama’s teaching in NY, which I’ve done whenever possible these past years, and I’ve read some of his books, and Iyer’s book gave yet another deeper understanding of this man’s journey and of the Tibetan situation, as part of the current puzzle of world politics! … glad also to find another LeGuin fan here … I kind of ‘re-discovered’ her lately (was a huge fan in the 70’s) … she had a ‘young adult’ trilogy out recently (“Gifts”, “Voices”, “Powers”) and that was part of some research I was doing (very enjoyable research!) and got me started again, re-reading and new-reading … she also has (of course) a really nice web-site, with fabulous book recommendations (she writes reviews for British magazines) … “Lavinia” is a ‘historical novel’ in a way, taking off from a character in Vergil’s Aeneid …

… what a sweet scene, Frank!