Scenes from home (Hyde Park)

I’ve been working from home most of this week but decided to switch it up and hit my favorite neighborhood cafe.  Here are some of the things I saw along the way.

 Lot’s a murals one of the things I like about Hyde Park, it’s this interesting mix of urban hippies, college students, buppies, retirees, cynics, optimists and all other kinds of everyday people. . .

 

Every wall seems to tell a story, provide a voice, show a perspective.  Even if you don’t know their names, you recognize their faces, they are woven somehow into your history.

 

And it will always feel like home.

Thanks Dad

I KNOW that I have been way off the ball as far as updating my blog and social media.  Believe me, it’s not because I’ve run out of things to say and share! On the contrary, I’ve had so much happening and I wanted to share it all but struggled with whether it was the right time.  The cliffnotes version is that as of last week, I am no longer working for Safer Foundation.  Also as of last week, I am now working for the Center for Media Justice and soon will be leaving Chicago and relocating to the Oakland/Bay Area.  A lot of transitions coming up, but I’ll save it for another blog post.

While I’m excited about my move and the life I look forward to living, it is truly sad to be leaving behind so many people who I love and cherish.  One of those

My dad back in the day

people is my dad.  I find myself sometimes wanting to cry when I think about how many girls in this world grow up not knowing the power of a father’s love.  I don’t say that to suggest that people who are raised in a single mother home or raised by two mommies are worse off, any more than I would suggest that just having a father who lives in the home is enough.  But I do wonder when I see so many girls/women make poor choices in terms of male partners or certain types of high risk behavior, how much of it has to do with the fact that they didn’t have their father there to tell them how beautiful they were.  Or how smart they were.  Or teach them their value and worth as a human being. I believe that because I got that kind of support, I didn’t go looking in the wrong places for affirmation.  

My dad is pretty old school- he calls women sweetheart, he likes a home cooked dinner every night (and breakfast in the morning), he controls the remote control.  He’s also pretty new school too- he taught me that I could be anything I wanted in this world (from a professional basketball player to a ballerina), that I was strong and should always remain independent, that I should never dumb myself down or give in to social stratification and stereotypes.   For that I am thankful to him and all the fathers out there that know what it means to be a dad and not just a dna contributor.

As I begin this new life journey, I know my dad worries for me (as any loving parent would).  I hope he knows that it’s the lessons passed on to me by my parents that gives me faith in myself, and it’s the love they’ve passed on to me that allows me to dream bigger.  I hope he knows that I know no matter what mistakes I make in life, I will never be afraid to come home. 

Even if it means it might be the source of comedic material for our next family event. . .

Me and my dad aka the accidental feminist

Summer Reading List Part 2

Here’s part two of my reading list. I was told that my reading list blog posts are boring, so if you’re not into things like reading this post may not be for you!  But if you do plan on getting in some summer reading, send me an email or tweet (or comment below) letting me know what’s on your list.

Fledgling – This was the final novel by the late Octavia Butler.  For those unfamiliar, the legendary authorButler wrote science/speculative fiction; her books tackle themes like race, sexuality, gender, and social class. Her book Kindred is one of my all time favorites, but I hadn’t yet gotten around to reading Fledgling.  I’m curious to read this particular book because from my understanding, it takes the Bram Stoker/Anne Rice/Stephanie Miller vampire archetype and completely flips it on its head by presenting the vampire in the body of a 10 year old African American girl.  Should be an engrossing read.

The Mismeasure of Man – This book, by evolutionary biologist Stephen Gould, is one that I’ve had on my must read list for years but have never actually read it.  The book is a critique of the Bell Curve theory and biological determinism.  There is a ridiculous amount of research out there that says that the racist/sexist/classist/etc. . . ideology that society is merely a reflection of biology is total bs.  Yet, we still find people like  Stephanie Grace (aka the harvard law student who got put on blast by a former friend for her drunken email rant about the inferiority of black people) and Satoshi Kanazawa (who last week got put on blast for his stanch defense of John Mayer’s “david duke” anatomy). I’ve read excerpts from the Mismeasure of Man, which is a searing indictment of this ignorance, but I’ve never actually read the whole book.  I look forward to doing that this summer.

The 80/20 Principle – This book is premised on the widely accepted theory that it’s 20% that usually produces 80% of the total results of anything you do.  Therefore by locking in on that 20% you can get more out of your business and life, for less.  I was familiar with this theory as it pertained to your wardrobe (you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of time) but had never really translated that to a whole lifestyle and career approach.  As I’ve become more interested in the idea of leading a more minimalist/GTD lifestyle, this book has worked it’s way up to the top of my list of must reads.

The Power of Less – Again this is about minimalism- which I intend to blog about at some point because it’s become increasing more interesting to me.  I really like this idea of stripping everything down to the bare bones and honing in on what you truly need.  It’s highly likely I will never be a Henry David Thoreau type and just willingly give everything up to live in the woods in a cabin and eat tree bark.  But I am working towards a more simple life and getting rid of the excess that clutters your home, your office, and most importantly your mind.    

Honorable mentions – Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith); The Devil in White City (Erik Larson); and Not Dead & Not for Sale (Scott Weiland).

Whew, so those are my must-read books for the summer.  My goal is to get through these by the end of August and provide reviews for at least a few of them.  Happy reading everyone!