Dude. Nature is awesome. (And so are collective nouns.)

Thanks to the internet, nature is really blowing my mind lately. [I am not unaware of the irony in that statement; I am simply choosing to ignore it.] Since I do not like to have my mind blown solo, I am sharing these discoveries with you. You're welcome. Prepare to be amazed.

So, yeah...this is sand.

What?! Sand, you say? I do say, and so does Dr. Gary Greenberg, the artist/scientist/magician who uses a fancy-pants microscope to take micro photos of individual grains of sand, among other things.

  I mean...really. Who knew? I am never going to look at the beach the same way.

You can see more of Dr. Greenberg's work, buy a book of the sand grain images, and order prints of his work on his website.

I like this next example of nature's awesomeness for two reasons. One  - The title of the video is Murmuration, which besides being fun to say, is the word for a flock of starlings.

This delights me because I am a nerd, and as a nerd, I like learning collective nouns. I blame my parents for reading us A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns when we were little. Who am I kidding? I loved that book and will definitely be reading it to my kids. In fact, I will probably treat them to all of the books in Ruth Heller's World of Language series (Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives, anyone?).

Thanks to this book, I know that a group of penguins is a parcel and when peacocks get together, its a muster. I don't recall, but I doubt Ms. Heller covers a murder of crows.

{How cute is that?}

Holy grammar tangent. Moving on...the second reason that I love this video is that it just shows nature being awesome. Apparently my verbal abilities have deteriorated to a level associated with your average pothead, I blame the aforementioned mind blowing. In all seriousness though, this is really breathtaking. I think I was literally holding my breath at the end. The video was shot by Liberty Smith and Sophie Windsor Clive on the River Shannon in Ireland.

                          

I have no idea how that girl managed to keep such a steady hand. I'm pretty sure that, had I been in her shoes, I would not have been contemplating the magnificent beauty of the natural world because this is all I would be able to see.

Gratitude - Day Eleven

So, you know those extraordinarily lazy weekend days that leave you feeling slightly guilty but also super relaxed? The ones you rationalize because it's cold and grey and rainy? [My parents are shaking their heads no right now.] Well, today was one of those days around here; in other words, it was stupendously unproductive. And Tom and I are about to finish off the evening with a dumb comedy (The Change Up, most likely), so I'm copping out a bit on today's post.

Obviously, I'm grateful for lazy, rainy Saturdays that end with red wine and dumb comedies, but that's not particularly interesting. I am, however, also grateful for satire, which is interesting and far more entertaining than my day's inactivity. Satire directed at the media and current events is a particular favorite.

I believe this genre began with Weekend Update and the inimitable Chevy Chase.



The Onion was next, and it was this clip that inspired today's post. This perfectly captures the absurdity of the "news" reported by the 24 hour networks.



Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

And then there is my favorite, The Daily Show. I might have a (not so) secret crush on Jon Stewart too. I love this show most when he points out the ridiculous hypocrisy of the talking heads and  politicians. The following two clips are several months old, but they are hilarious, maddening, and, speaking as a teacher, incredibly gratifying. I guess sometimes it's more productive to turn anger and frustration into comedy. Each clip is about five minutes but worth your time if you have it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Crisis in Dairyland - Angry Curds
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Crisis in Dairyland - For Richer and Poorer - Teachers and Wall Street
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Lest you think they only pick on Fox News, here's a clip of Stewart poking fun at the bombast on MSNBC...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Olbertunity Knocks
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Farewell 2009!

"Summer Rain" by the Riders

In 2009, I: moved twice, got four states closer to visiting all fifty, celebrated my first wedding anniversary, started teaching high school, and started a blog. I am excited for 2010 and all of the adventures I am sure to have as I head toward my thirtieth birthday.