9/11: in remembrance

On September 11, 2001 every American's life changed forever. You don't need me to tell you that. One year later, on the first year anniversary of that terrible day in history, I found myself at a loss of what to do. I wanted to somehow honor those lost, those who survived, those who were such heros, those who left to fight, and all those still struggling with the heartwrenching sting of losing their loved ones. Yet all the way across the nation over here on the California coast I felt completely disconnected. I didn't know what to do so I headed to the bookstore, hoping that perhaps I could find some sort of 9/11 memorial book and honor the fallen in my own way. This is the book I found, and I have made it a tradition to sit down with it every year since.
There were a lot of reasons why I appreciated this book. But what struck me immediately was how the cover itself was literally made up of tiny photographs of all those who were lost. Look closely. Real people.

the all-too-familiar, heartbreaking sight -

and the American people in a state of shock

I simply cannot imagine what it must have been like

I still find it impossible to conceive the magnitude...

look how tiny the people are in comparison to the wreckage

the American people rallied their patriotism

there were all kinds of heros, God bless them all ❤

just a few of the many ordinary people doing extraordinary things

No 9/11 remembrance would be near as poignant without this now-famous photo. It stirs up so much emotion, even now, eight years later. For some things, there are just no words.

young people who rock

My wonderful twenty-three-year-old niece fully embraces a quote I absolutely love: "Life's experiences are like quarters. You lose both when you're sitting on the couch". She is the epitome of experiencing life to it's fullest, which is one of the many things I love about her. I am often guilty of losing my experiences and my quarters while sitting on the couch.

Nicole Lapin

Have you ever noticed CNN.com's lifestyle feature "Young People Who Rock"? It's a weekly feature hosted by Nicole Lapin. She finds the most incredible young people, introduces us to them, gives us time to think of questions we might even want to ask them, and then interviews them every Friday on CNN.com LIVE.

These young people are from all walks of life, from all over the world, all under 30 years of age, some rising up amidst deplorable circumstances, and every single one of them doing remarkable things. I find it incredibly inspiring. It's a gem shining in a world often covered in gunk. Even if you never make it to the live interviews, just reading about these wonderful young people is enough to restore your faith in mankind for another day. And there is an endless catalog of previous articles you can click on as well.

Below you will find the beautiful faces of some of these young people who rock. I'm not going to tell you their stories on purpose because I want you to click on the above link and read about them yourselves. Have your own children join you. You won't regret it :)

Chelsey Shannon

Kyle Taylor

Lexi Lehrman

Felice Gorordo

number 9

Well, today is 09/09/09. From what I read while perusing the online news while I was half asleep last night, this phenomenon of numbers will not occur again for at least another century (or something like that). Which is actually pretty cool I guess. So I put on my thinking cap and tried to come up with a great post for today but promptly fell asleep. After my diet Coke kicked in this morning I remembered one of my paintings has a loop in it that I call 'number 9' since that's what it resembles. I figured what the heck - I could start by posting that. And then I remembered today is remastered Beatles day too! It's way too much of a stretch to try to relate the two in any way, so I won't embarrass myself by making a lame attempt ("number nine... number nine... number nine..."). But I do have a great CNN review you might enjoy reading. You may also want to stop by the Beatles Store at Amazon - they have some fun things going on there. Happy 09/09/09!
Review: Remastered Beatles Are Delicious Ear Candy
by John Lorinc

CNN

The newly remastered Beatles boxed sets are a treat for the casual fan and a dream come true for the die-hards.

The mono set may be revelatory for some, but even the box of stereo albums -- the best-known versions and the primary sales focus -- is a step up from the 22-year-old original CD releases.

Need proof?

Check out "Lovely Rita," from 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

The shimmering guitar intro, followed by Paul McCartney's soaring "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh," the bouncy bass line and John Lennon and George Harrison's smirky backing vocals, offers delicious ear candy that doesn't rot your teeth.

Many other audible delights emerge to the surface more often than they did in the prehistoric days of vinyl and cassette because of the remastering.

Harrison's surprisingly cheerful-sounding sitar that mimics Lennon's melody in "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," from 1965's "Rubber Soul," is much crisper.

Ringo Starr's rat-tat-tat drumming muscle on "Rain," from 1966, sounds brand new. The multitracked harmonies of "Because," from 1969's "Abbey Road," shimmer.

The remastering work likewise subtly expands the band's sound from its earlier days, a time when overdubs and studio tricks were kept to a minimum.

Listening to the band's debut album, 1963's "Please Please Me" (mostly recorded in a one-day session), it all but feels like being in the musty studio watching them perform these songs.

Lennon's sore-throated screaming (literally and figuratively) on the album's finale, "Twist and Shout," has never sounded more sandpapery -- and that's meant as a compliment.

Other full-throttle rockers, like the whoop-it-up Motown cover "Money (That's What I Want)" (from 1963's "With the Beatles") and Sir Paul's one-take vocal explosion on Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" (1964), also shake the walls.

If you want to know what it was like to see the Beatles perform in the Cavern Club during their pre-fame days, play these songs at a very high volume. Just make sure your neighbors don't mind.

But it's perhaps on 1966's "Revolver," once crowned the greatest recording of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, where the magical mystery work of Abbey Road recording engineer Guy Massey and the many others involved is most apparent.

The horns on McCartney's sassy-brassy "Got to Get You Into My Life" sound like explosions, while his too-tender-to-touch ballad, "Here, There and Everywhere," peacefully floats through the air. George Harrison's three compositions (especially "I Want to Tell You" and the biting opening track, "Taxman") are all more impressive thanks to the new paint job.

The chiming guitars on "And Your Bird Can Sing" bring Lennon's lucid lyrics a Technicolor shine. "Revolver's" closing track, John's "Tomorrow Never Knows," full of tape loops and wizardry from the mixing board, is a trip. (No surprise, given its drug-assisted origins.)

The material of the Beatles will continue to impress as long as human beings need to listen to music. These new box sets, along with the Rock Band video game, will certainly introduce the group's catalog to yet another younger generation.

The new listeners will likely jump in instinctively: I took my 5-year-old son to see McCartney in concert last month, and when "Drive My Car" opened the show, he was air-guitaring along with his grown-up peers.

For fans who have been bombarded with these songs countless times, there's something new as well.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

inspiring :)

~ Ivy Bean ~

CNN.com/technology

Active Twitter User Celebrates 104th Birthday

Monday, September 7, 2009

by Melissa Gray, CNN

BRADFORD, England (CNN) - Tuesday is her 104th birthday, but that hasn't stopped Ivy Bean from being an avid Twitter user, and possibly the oldest person on the social networking site.

From the care home where she lives in the northern English city of Bradford, near Leeds, Bean updates her more than 27,000 Twitter followers about the ups and downs of her life -- from getting her hair done with her good friend Mabel, to eating fish and chips and watching her favorite game show, "Deal or No Deal," on TV.

Last month, she tweeted her sadness that her friend Norma had passed away overnight.

Before getting onto Twitter, Bean was already active on Facebook, where she maxed out her 5,000-friend limit in no time.

Bean says she prefers Twitter because it's easier than Facebook -- it only requires updating. She has linked both accounts so that her tweets automatically show up on Facebook.

Bean says she knows people must think it's amazing that she's so active on online, but she thinks it's a good way of keeping in touch with people.

And for those who find it hard to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, Bean offers this advice: "Keep on at it."

"Old" is not the first -- or second or even 10th -- word that comes to mind with Bean, an engaging, lively and friendly lady with a warm and infectious smile.

A resident of Hillside Manor, she recently won a gold medal at the residential home's Over-75 Olympics in the Frisbee-throwing category. And she enjoys bowling on the home's Nintendo Wii.

No surprise, perhaps, for a lady who was a gymnast when she was younger.

What do her friends think of her online popularity? "I think they might be jealous," she said with a joking laugh.

Others at Hillside Manor also have Twitter accounts, but not Bean's friend, Mabel Davis, 87.

"Just put me on yours, Ivy," she says.

Already, Bean's centenarian tweeting and Facebooking have attracted international attention, and news outlets from around the world have interviewed her.

Bean's daughter, Sandra Logan, 61, said she arrived for a visit one day only to find her mom busy with a call.

"I'm on the phone with Israel," Bean called out to her daughter.

Part of the reason Bean is so active online is because the care home makes activities for its residents a priority. One resident wanted to learn more about photography, so he now takes a course once a week at a local college. The home also helped another resident get a passport so he could visit his son in Spain.

Hillside Manor also recently hosted a quiz with students from the local college. The subject was history. The Hillside Manor residents won.

"We're trying to do something different than knitting or crochet," explained Pat Wright, the home's manager.

Bean came from a large family with four brothers and three sisters. All are gone, Logan said.

Bean, who was in the middle of her siblings, was approaching 40 when she got married during the "great war" to Harold Gibson Bean. He was a cook in the army, and she worked in a mill.

After the war, the couple got a job "in service" to a wealthy family. Ivy Bean was a housekeeper and her husband was the cook and butler to Lord and Lady Guinness in Northamptonshire, England. Daughter Sandra, their only child, was born two years later, in 1947.

The couple retired together but Harold Bean died a few years later, when he was in his 70s, Logan said.

Bean now has three great-grandchildren with two more on the way, Logan said. They all call their famous great-grandmother "Little Nan."

Wright says Bean is "very open" to new suggestions and new ideas and is always willing to have a go at something.

"She must have been like that all her life," Wright says. "It's not a new thing. I think if you're one of those people that'll try anything through your life, it doesn't stop when you get old."

As she types an update on her Twitter page, Bean certainly seems to be displaying an open mind. Would she agree?

"I don't know if I have or not," Bean says. "But there's something there. There must be!"

***

I want to live on the Ivy Bean side of life!

laboring NOT

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope that all of you are having a lovely day and NOT laboring :) I am kicking my feet up, visiting my fave antique mall, poking around here and there, probably causing a bit of trouble now and again, and of course my day would not be complete without some Ruffles and my nector of the gods, diet Coke w/ a splash of vanilla syrup. An old movie with everyone tonight will be the perfect end to a lovely day. Okay, at least that's what I'm aiming for - you never know what the real outcome will be! LOL!

A few thoughts to ponder today:

• is it really necessary to dust when you turn around and more dust has already arrived and unpacked?
• is anything on earth cuter than a dog's nose?
• don't you think smells are some of the most understated gifts we've been blessed with?
• can your brain seriously hold the diverse songs "Forever Young", "Take a Chance on Me", and "Piano Man" all at the same time for more than three days without imploding?

oh yeah :)

what a Croc

It's a TWO-FER! You may be interested to know that on the Crocs website, they are having a major 2-for-1 sale with free shipping! I know, I know - you either love 'em or hate 'em. But I'm a big fan of their flip flops because they're so comfortable, durable, and - you guessed it - colorful. I scored these 2 pair for less than $25 total, including shipping. Cool! There are many styles for men, women, and kids, but they are all going FAST. They're already out of stock on many sizes and colors. Still there are enough good deals left that I wanted to pass the news along :)

Now, I've heard rumors that Crocs is going under like so many other businesses who started out strong and then grew fast almost beyond their capabilities before the economy hit them like a brick wall... but the Crocs website has a great fall line up and everything, so who knows. All I can say is, if you're in the market for the real deal, set yourself up!

gosh, it's a shame these aren't more colorful, eh? lol :)

more tall tails :)

* Chanel *

So many of you enjoyed hearing about Luna yesterday - thank you for all your comments here, on Facebook, and in e-mails :) I think it's true, that we become very sentimental about our pets because we consider them members of the family and treat them as such. To hear animal stories always seems to evoke a great deal of emotion. I wanted to continue on with a dog post one more day and share with you 2 special dogs.

When I read that Chanel, the world's oldest dog on record, has recently passed away, I wanted to give her a little tribute by posting the article. The next photo is of Scoutie Girl, who is owned by Jan, a favorite blogger of mine. You will notice Scoutie has 3 legs, which is a story in and of itself. If you will click on the link, you will be entertained with one of the most adorable, play-by-play scenarios I've read in a long time - complete with pictures. So very funny :) ENJOY!

By VIRGINIA BYRNE, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 31, 10:54 pm ET
NEW YORK – A wire-haired dachshund that held the record as the world's oldest dog and celebrated its last birthday with a party at a dog hotel and spa has died at age 21 — or 147 in dog years.

The dog, named Chanel, died Friday of natural causes at her owners' home in suburban Port Jefferson Station, on Long Island.
Chanel, as stylish as her legendary namesake, wore tinted goggles for her cataracts in her later years and favored sweaters because she was sensitive to the cold, owners Denice and Karl Shaughnessy said Monday.

The playful dachshund was only 6 weeks old when Denice Shaughnessy, then serving with the U.S. Army, adopted her from a shelter in Newport News, Va.
Along with her owner, Chanel spent nine years on assignment in Germany, where she became adept at stealing sticks of butter from kitchen countertops and hiding them in sofa cushions in the living room, Shaughnessy said. She also liked chocolate, usually considered toxic to dogs, Shaughnessy said. "She once ate an entire bag of Reese's peanut butter cups, and, you see, she lived to be 21, so go figure," Shaughnessy added.

Karl Shaughnessy nominated Chanel for the title of world's oldest dog after noticing the Guinness World Records book had no record.
Guinness World Records officials presented Chanel with a certificate as the world's oldest dog at a Manhattan birthday bash hosted by a private pet food company in May. Chanel loved the party, especially the cake, which had a peanut butter flavor and had been made for dogs, Denice Shaughnessy said.

Chanel exercised daily and ate home-cooked chicken with her dog food, but good care wasn't entirely responsible for her long life, said her owners, who attributed God.
"Dogs are God's angels sent here to look out for us," Denice Shaughnessy said.

* Scoutie Girl *