People In Your Neighborhood

Before I had heard anything about a movie being made, ( The Impossible, just released ) I was up late one night and stumbled across this movie (broken up into a series of videos) on YouTube that uses only real footage taken by four or so people or families to recount the story of the tsunami in Thailand. These kinds of 'real footage' things are all over YouTube, but the team that put together and edited the interviews and footage and voice overs did an outstanding,  breathtaking job. The sound editing alone is absolutely phenomenal, gives me chills and is excellent at underscoring the humanity and gravity of the situation without becoming too cloying. It is deeply sad to watch, and the loss of life that is happening is impossible to even truly take in, so I don't recommend this for anyone struggling with depression or the like. I think this movie is one that will stay with me for a long, long time, if not forever in my memory, with the images of the water and the voices of the innocent people trying to react to something they had no warning of and no context for. I think perhaps this is what makes the subject so compelling for me: what do we do when things horrible things happen that we did not prepare for and can barely process is happening?

Melanie of Inward Facing Girl addresses a commonly bandied about subject right now in Bloggers and Creatives Work Hard For The Money

This book trailer for Minimalist Parenting is so exciting to me, because it represents the work of two women whom I respect and admire- Asha Dornfest and Christine Koh- and  AND it is about a book they wrote that really, really fits my parenting profile and is coming out soon!~ You can pre-order now, and I can't wait to read it!

Lola and I are hardcore Downton Abbey fans and I want this shirt!

If you need a laugh

On Mamalode, Stacey makes the kind of choice that person by person will transform our world: to force herself through feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable and embarrassed to take action.

I love stories of marriage.

This man and his story and his tattoo. Incredibly moving and inspiring. I am putting a 'Be Here Now' tattoo on my Seriously Considering list because for me, that has been the number one spiritual practice and idea that has created real change in my life.