I had planned to spend tonight as a “spa night.” Do a facial, paint my nails, sip some wine or whiskey, read my Kindle…and maybe watch some X-Men cartoons (okay, that last part doesn’t fit well, but that’s okay).
Instead, I saw Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, laughed and joked with some crew men on set, got irritatingly hit on by a Tarheel, discussed the casting for the Marvel movies with a stranger, and made new friends (and followers!) all while standing in pretty much the same spot for nearly two hours.
And then ran into an old & new acquaintance on the subway ride home.
New York is so funny like that.
“A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.” – Will Rogers
About 15 minutes ago, DC Entertainment and Warner Brothers announced the launch of a new initiative to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn Of Africa. In partnership with The International Rescue Committee, Save The Children, Mercy Corps, and the Justice League itself, the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign seeks to combat the worst hunger crisis in 60 years and bring assistance to over 13 million people in need.
I’ve always been more of a Marvel fan (X-Men wins it all for me), but I have to say kudos to DC for launching a really amazingly done campaign and for giving a 100% match in donations. This is spectacular from a corporate alliance standpoint.
To learn more about the campaign or join the Justice League as a hero, visit the We Can Be Heroes website or follow the hashtag #WeCanBeHeroes.
Note: I know that most of my social circles have no idea who she is. It’s okay. She’s only awesome.
So yesterday, I woke up, got ready, and hopped on an extra early train since it was my first day with Good Scout. I arrived far too early though, so I decided to loiter outside and give B a call. In the middle of telling him something, I spotted a woman walking across the cobble stone streets just down the block from where I was standing.
“I’ll call you back. Sorry.” Hung up on my own boyfriend.
Thankfully I wasn’t wearing my extra tall heels when I dashed over to her.
I felt like a teenager who had just spotted Justin Bieber. I’m pretty sure when she said yes to that, my mouth dropped a bit and I blanked for a second. I don’t approach “celebrities” often, but when I do my communication skills (or my overall ability to form coherent thoughts) clearly flies out the door. Not a great track record so far.
Good thing Jacqueline is incredibly nice and down to earth, and was able to overlook my bright-eyed idiocy (seriously, when did I get that way?)
I started telling her how I loved her work and how I loved Acumen Fund. I also added that I literally was just reading her book The Blue Sweater a few minutes ago on the train. I considered pulling it out and showing her, but remembered all the junk in my bag…and pictured everything spilling out in a tangled mess as I attempted to show her that I really was carrying her book…and thought about the awkwardness of bending down in my heels and trying to pick up everything off the ground while doing a juggling act…and became utterly horrified at the potential of such embarrassment…and so I decided not to pull it out. (This entire image and decision happened in less than a split second.)
She kindly searched through her bag for a business card as she recommended that I check out the New York chapter since the Acumen office/Google building was right down the block from my office. (Glad I didn’t try to take that book out. I don’t think they let spazes join their meetings.)
Anyways, since I had the honor of speaking with Jacqueline for a brief moment, I decided that I should share one of her TED Talks. Below is one called, “Inspiring A Life Of Immersion.” It was the first one I had seen of her, though I think it’s the most recent one she’s done.
Some favorite quotes I’ve been seeing fill up my feeds today:
“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”
Many of my friends have heard me say something to the extent of, “Isn’t it crazy how…[insert something relatively normal in our modern society]?” I always find technology, and how far along it’s come, to be absolutely fascinating and something my mind sometimes needs a moment to really think about. When I tell people about my wonder, they tend to think I’m weird. Understandable, since we live in a hyper-connected, super tech-savvy society where 10-year-olds spend recess downloading apps to their phones and the concept of putting pen to paper to communicate with someone seems like an ancient one. It’s amazing though, right?
Brian sent me this clip this morning with the added message, “This should be the official video of #firstworldpains.” Louis CK on Conan O’Brien about how amazing our world is today and how nobody appreciates it.
The DNA Foundation, created by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore to fight sex trafficking of girls, launched a campaign this past Monday titled, “Real Men.”
It’s a series of videos that show Real Men like Bradley Cooper, Adrian Peterson, Drake (as seen above), Jason Mraz, Justin Timberlake, and other men-of-men doing “manly” activities — whatever that may be. But one thing is for sure: buying girls is not an activity that Real Men engage in.
You can watch the videos on DNA’s YouTube channel. My favorites are: Real Men Are Distrustful Of Robots; Real Men Know How To Start A Fire; and Real Men Have A Sense Of Direction.
I can’t speak on behalf of all females but I for one prefer Real Men.
So fellas, are you a Real Man?
