The best godmother ever....

Despite my documented distrust of infants, I was super excited to go down to see my Goddaughter (Godkid) and her mama (Ani).

Ani was my roomate in high school and pretty much my only link my Armenian heritage.

Any Armenian (or anyone who has ever seen an Armenian) is pretty much in disbelief once they hear that part of my heritage is Armenian. I don't look Armenian at all and truth be told-- I'm not a really good Armenian. The only Armenian word I know is "bread" (lavash?) so between me and my dad-- we can beg for scraps at any Armenian table because the only word *he* knows is "meat."

Luckily Armenians are a benevolent people and always go out of their way to feed me. It is also lucky that Armenian food is freaking good. I can eat my weight in lamb and boereg.

Mmmm....food.

I got distracted.

The Godkid.

Yes.

This is Mia. She likes colors, food, sleeping, and when I flail my limbs in an amusing fashion. I think we could get along.

Mia is only 3 months- so she didn't have much use for "Auntie Jenny." We pretty much just sized each other up during my visit. I like her-- but I think Mia is a little skeptical of me. Unless I am being used as a pillow, Mia really only likes it when I am dancing around and basically act as if I'm drowning on land.

What a sweetheart-head.

This picture was taken too early in the morning for my taste.

Even Mia seems confused that she is awake. She said I made a good pillow, though.

It is sooooooo ordered!

Lord. This entry has been languishing on my computer for days now.

BAM!
California struck down Prop 8 and two landmark battles for gay rights are heading towards the Supreme Court. Awesome.

Prop 8 was deemed unconstitutional and a violation of gay people's rights. In the final ruling, it was decided that "moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians (135)."

For a legal document- there are some pretty powerful and moving statements. My favorite, however, is below (the phrase in italics is my favorite part): "The evidence shows, however, that Proposition 8 played on a fear that exposure to homosexuality would turn children into homosexuals and that parents should dread having children that are not heterosexual. ff 79; PX0099 Video, Its Already Happened (mother's expression of horror upon realizing her daughter now knows she can marry a princess).

Let's be serious for a second. No matter what your views-- I think we are overestimating children's resolve. There isn't a high level of "stick-to-it"-ness involved in children's plans or dreams. If parents are really that distraught over an idea that a child has... probably wait two days for them to change their mind.

Dad: Lisa is gay now?

Mom: [not looking up from her book] She wants to marry a princess.

Dad: A princess?! So she's a monarchist too?!

Mom: [still reading] Don't worry about it Stan.

Dad: Well how does she expect to become a spy once the government discovers she is a tory?

Mom: She doesn't want to be a spy anymore. She wants to be an astronaut.

Dad: An astronaut?!?

Mom: I think it is nice.

Dad: That girl needs some sort of game plan for her future.

Mom: She is six.

Dad: [seemingly resigned to his daughters astronaut/princess fate] Where is Mark?

Mom: He is out in the back playing Rambo

Dad: [looks out the window] When did he become such a merciless killing machine?

Photo tribute to Prop 8 being struck down

"you are making Ellen sad"

Photo Credit: Steve Griffin (via huffingtonpost.com)

Design by Shepard Fairey

Hang in there Margaret!

There is a site online called "I Write Like" where you type a bit of your own writing in, and an algorithm analyzes your writing and says which famous author you most write like.

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

BOOYA!

Yeah-- I was delighted.

The site has gone viral, however, and everybody is doing it-- even famous authors themselves. The authors, however, have been horrified with the results for the most part. Someone put the text in from Mel Gibson's racist/sexist/generally horrible human being rant in and the algorithm decided it was most like Margaret Atwood. MARGARET ATWOOD! The woman who wrote "The Handmaiden's Tale" and said "A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerless and silence go together." THAT was the author that most resembled Mel Gibson's "You're a f*cking mentally deprived idiot." How charming.

So basically, I'm pretty sure Margaret Atwood is on suicide watch until the month is up. Poor dear.

Allons-y!

I'm in Savannah after the longest car ride EVER. It might have been my fault as I did not load up the CD player with tubular new tunes. I had to rekindle my love for Lady Gaga (specifically "Bad Romance" as that is the only song of hers I have right now) and really make it work. Also, there were some pretty successful Aerosmith jams... but apart from that it was dreadful.

There are a couple things I have to do in Savannah and then it is back to Greensboro to start a new job, apply to the Americorp job, and study for the GRE.

Blah.

Video of the Week

Let it go this too shall pass

These videos make me proud to be African-American

Admittedly, I know very little about the World Cup-- but I can't help but be fascinated with it. It is the one event in this world that brings every nation together.

The commercials for it are amazing. The Super Bowl gets a lot of hype for their commercials, but they are just kitschy and completely consumer based (and, this year, pretty awful) . World Cup commercials strive for a little more. And, yes, I understand they are still commercials and thus, in some way, still selling something. I appreciate them, though, because they don't sacrifice creativity while doing it. They are inspiring, creative, and capture the excitement attached to these games.

"Wavin' Flag" is probably my favorite commercial so far. According to YouTube, this video has been watched 226,106 times at the time of this post. 36 of those views were me. They used this song in a charity compliation for Haiti. The song is truly beautiful.

Pepsi drafted Akon to be part of their commercial. "Oh, Africa" is a fun little commercial. It even makes me think Akon is redeemable as a performer.

Oh... and click here if you want to see Snoop Dogg with a light-saber. It is an old Adidas World Cup commercial that uses the classic Star Wars "Cantina scene." [credit to Graham for the find]