The Title is ______.

some movies melt me to the core.




here are images from a few of my favorites.

posted by k.o. @ 10:28 PM 2 comments

over the hedge

ok. this movie is super-great. i just watched it. highly recommend it. what a good commentary on suburb-ians.

posted by k.o. @ 8:43 AM 1 comments

HAHAHA

one time my sister Bridget and my mom and i were in target and came across this product while looking for Vaseline. we laughed so hard we cried. and yes, we are very mature.

posted by k.o. @ 8:02 AM 1 comments

beauty

on friday i am headed to GCC to see my sister's dance performance. she choreographed imogen heap's hide and seek. it will be so beautiful. i love seeing how my sister's gifts have matured.

if you would have asked me at age fifteen where i thought i would be in ten years, i highly doubt i would have predicted accurately. and yet, there are some things that i have always "known". for example, when i was younger i felt awkward and uncomfortable around people with disabilities. but at the same time i had this feeling that when i grew up i would have kids with disabilities and that i would love them fiercely. i felt totally ill-equipped and unprepared to handle it, but that was because i was not ready yet. i knew that i would be ready when the time came.


well as it turns out, i somehow fell into a job that i absolutely love. and in a way, god has given me those children. i've also always "known" that i would adopt. again, that idea scares me. i don't feel ready, but i don't have to be. not yet.

it still makes me wonder what the future holds.

No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place. -Maya Angelou

posted by k.o. @ 8:08 AM 1 comments

the truth shall set you free

it's impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was, because what you say can never be exact, you always have to leave something out, there are too many parts, sides, crosscurrents, nuances; too many gestures, which could mean this or that, too many shapes which can never be fully described, too many flavors, in the air or on the tongue, half-colors, too many. -Margaret Atwood

this is exactly how i feel about my life. i have one friend, possibly two, who really know. the knowledge is both glorious and terrible, and sometimes the beauty is too much to bear alone. but when i am in the moment, when i know how beautiful the pain is, it is a comfort that someone outside of that moment can grasp its subtleties.

posted by k.o. @ 7:25 AM 0 comments

funny story.

folks.

i think i may have developed a mild dog-allergy in the last year. phoo-phooey, you may be tempted to say. what's the big deal? well, i shall enlighten you. you see, dear ones, this past weekend i moved in with two lovely friends. they, in turn, happen to own not one pooch but two. true fact.

this evening i will be stopping by the local drug store with the intent of procuring clariton or another such over-the-counter-antihistamine. i plan on treating this as a seasonal allergy. we'll see how it goes...until then.

posted by k.o. @ 8:23 PM 1 comments

In the Spirit of Advent

excerpt from The House of Christmas by GK Chesterton

This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
Amid all men are at home.



season's greetings everyone.

remember what is of true importance.

posted by k.o. @ 1:55 PM 1 comments

moving on

last night i had this inexplicable feeling of...? i don't really know. sadness, nostalgia, heartache, __________(your answer here). almost as though some part of me had moved passed and left me disjointed and unsettled.

i've always been on the move in some way because i've never felt like i've arrived. i was listening to a conversation with a few friends and realized that although i have made pittsburgh my home for the last two years, it doesn't entirely fit. some places and people fit for a period of time. then the season changes.


i wouldn't trade the last two years. or the last six, for that matter. but i've never felt connected to place strongly enough to, say, purchase a home.


let's face it. i didn't move to Pittsburgh because i was drawn to the city itself. from the very beginning, i knew Pittsburgh would not be home. it was sort of a temporary residence, a place for me to grow, to get ready. I'm just not clear exactly what it is that i've gotten ready for.


but i keep moving and shaking. i think i'm just about ready for whatever is next. i can feel it coming. the little hairs on the back of my neck feel prickly with anticipation. change is hard for me, but stagnant routine is worse. bring it.

posted by k.o. @ 11:44 AM 1 comments

post-script for thinks-giving

there is something i must say. my political reaction via blog entry a few days ago was only triggered by my holiday experience. the actual people i visited are fine thinkers and take time to educate themselves.


that's really all. i just get super-sensitive when christian media sources that imply that "republican" and "christian" are interchangeable words. god is not republican. good heavens, god is not even american!


it makes me think of a song by justin mcroberts. the lyrics are:
i do not support your candidate/ i do not support your war/ i am not the spirit in your new movement/ i am the lord your god.

we are made in god's image, not he in ours. i don't claim to know very much. but it seems that the more i learn, the less certain i am that i know anything at all. i hesitate to make sweeping statements or definitive claims because i am almost certain to be missing part of the picture.

i suppose i just want to listen. I'm often surprised at what i hear.

Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand. -Baruch Spinoza

posted by k.o. @ 11:09 AM 0 comments

lovely

this is a picture of me and my niece. she is a good deal older now...this picture is from easter. it's amazing how much babies change in just a few months. i am really excited about moving back to where my family is. i will at least get a few months in with the babies (my sister's due date for their 2nd child is dec. 26) before they move to the other side of the world.

posted by k.o. @ 11:01 AM 0 comments

happy thinks-giving

i am visiting some childhood family friends for the holiday. while it is always wonderful to see them, i find that it is not always prudent to "let myself go" and blab my thoughts on every topic. these sorts of experiences give much food for thought...por ejemplo, i almost got myself into a political debate with a fifth-grader. not good.

it gets really tricky and i will tell you why. teaching children how to discern what is truly "good" and valuable is an extremely difficult task. i find that some children end up thinking that "christian=good" or "christian politician=good politics". not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself if kids are taught that the gospel is true and that the path of christ is the path of truth...

unfortunately it does NOT follow that all people who claim to be "christian" are good decision makers or leaders.

generally, i avoid political topics on this blog but i will venture a short statement for the sake of argument.

president bush, in my opinion, is not a good president. he may be a nice guy and very possibly may have a true faith in jesus...i really can't say. never met him. but really. just because a doctor says "i like jesus" does not mean i want him to perform open heart surgery on me or my family. i would prefer a surgeon who is good at his job. you can be sure that i would choose the better surgeon over the christian surgeon. if the christian surgeon is better...great! sign me up!

seriously, folks. think, people, think! there is no excuse for the christian community to be willfully and stubbornly ignorant for the "sake of christians". it does not do anyone any favors.

there have been multiple instances where i have had to call my mother or my father in tears because i have such enormous problems with, say, Dr. James Dobson. i wrestle with how in the hell to love this man. i am practically developing an ulcer because of the damage he continues to cause and i am terrified for the people that blindly follow whatever he says.



now i am hyperventilating.

that's enough for now.

thank god that we are not ultimately in charge. it is of great relief to me that GOD is in control. otherwise i might despair. we just muck everything up.

thank god. for real. happy thanksgiving.

posted by k.o. @ 10:29 AM 4 comments

loving you.

posted by k.o. @ 11:07 PM 0 comments

rise and shine

once again i am moving to a new living space. my roommate is getting married in twelve days and her fiance is moving in as i move out.

two things. one, i hate moving. really. two, it totally sucks to be in limbo. i am the sort of person that enjoys to have my space be settled and feel like home. thousands of boxes strewn about the apartment do not add to the general peace and order of my life.

oh and let me tag on one last thought. my cd is almost finished. it is taking me a bajillion years to finish because i've been a wee bit depressed the last few months...just enough to make my action-jackson side sluggish.

anywho. thought i would update. be well, all. enjoy the holiday season.

posted by k.o. @ 7:48 AM 1 comments

give me a quarter and i'll tell you your fortune.

happy birthday to me. actually it is technically after my birthday, but i have not yet gone to bed, so it still counts.

posted by k.o. @ 1:14 AM 1 comments